The Assembly met at noon (Mr Deputy Speaker [Mr McClelland] in the Chair).
Members observed two minutes’ silence.

Strategic Investment and Regeneration of Sites Bill: First Stage

Mr Denis Haughey: I beg leave to lay before the Assembly a Bill [NIA 8/02] to establish and provide for the functions of the Strategic Investment Board for Northern Ireland; to make provision for certain sites made available under the reinvestment and reform initiative, including provision for their regeneration by development corporations; and for connected purposes.
Bill passed First Stage and ordered to be printed.

Mr Donovan McClelland: The Bill will be put on the list of pending business until a date for its Second Stage has been determined.

Point of Order: Business Committee

Mr Sammy Wilson: On a point of order, Mr Deputy Speaker. A motion, tabled by the DUP, calling for the dissolution of the Assembly and early elections has not been put on the Order Paper. It appears that due to political bias and fear, this motion has been blocked by the Business Committee. Is it in order for those parties that wish to save themselves from an early political skinning to be allowed to abuse the Business Committee in this way?

Mr Donovan McClelland: Mr Wilson, you know that any decision on what is on the Order Paper is made by the Business Committee, and it is for your party’s representative on that Committee to put his or her case.

Energy Bill: First Stage

Sir Reg Empey: I beg leave to lay before the Assembly a Bill [NIA 9/02] to provide for the establishment and functions of the Northern Ireland Authority for Energy Regulation and an energy group of the General Consumer Council for Northern Ireland; to amend the legislation regulating the electricity and gas industries; and for connected purposes.
Bill passed First Stage and ordered to be printed.

Mr Donovan McClelland: The Bill will be put on the list of pending business until a date for its Second Stage has been determined.

Harbours Bill: Second Stage

Mr Peter Robinson: I beg to move
That the Second Stage of the Harbours Bill (NIA 5/02) be agreed.
The need for this legislation arises from the growing interest of the general public and elected representatives in the activities and future development of the individual harbour authorities. In May 2001, the Department announced a series of measures aimed at improving the public accountability of trust ports in Northern Ireland and ensuring that the public interest can be fully safeguarded in relation to their operations. Many of the measures reflected the recommendations contained in the Committee for Regional Development’s report on its inquiry into the Titanic Quarter lease arrangements. Since then, my Department has advanced and set in place many of those measures.
The Department for Regional Development has developed and put in place memoranda of understanding in relation to each trust port. They provide for consultation with the Department prior to any disposal of harbour lands. Earlier this year, the Assembly debated and approved harbour Orders for Belfast, Londonderry and Warrenpoint. Among other things, the Orders provided for an increase in the number of elected representatives on each board. The various additional appointments have since been made, and the Department routinely receives copies of board papers and minutes. The Harbours Bill is the final element of the package of measures intended to improve the accountability of the trust ports. It is a short Bill, containing only seven clauses.
Clause 1 designates the Belfast Harbour Commissioners, the Coleraine Harbour Commissioners, the Harbour of Carlingford Lough Improvement Commissioners, the Londonderry Port and Harbour Commissioners and the Warrenpoint Harbour Authority. Thus, all the commercial public trust ports in Northern Ireland are covered by the legislation.
The provisions in clause 2 empower the Department to give directions of a general or specific character in relation to the functions of the harbour authorities. That will empower the Department to act, if necessary, to safeguard the public interest in relation to the activities of the trust ports. However, the Department envisages that such power would be used only after consultation with the harbour authorities. The provision will also be useful in further underpinning the memoranda of understanding between the respective harbour authorities and the Department. Naturally, the Bill also envisages that a duty would be imposed on a designated harbour authority to comply with any directions given by the Department.
Clause 3 enables the Department to require a trust port to provide it with such information as may be necessary, such as details of a specific lease or contract or information about preferential user arrangements. That will apply only to information coming into the possession of the harbour authority after the legislation comes into effect.
The Bill also contains provisions for the imposition of fines and penalties, either for failure to comply with a notice requesting information or for knowingly, or recklessly, making a false statement or producing a false document. Although the Harbours Act (Northern Ireland) 1970 already contains provisions to enable the Department to obtain information, it is of a more specific character and relates to forecasts to allow it to regulate harbours, the compilation of statistics or information in relation to grants or loans made under the Act.
Clause 4 provides for the introduction by the Department of a code of practice for all Northern Ireland trust ports, following on from a similar initiative in Great Britain. The proposed legislation requires the Department to consult with such persons as it thinks fit in relation to its proposals before the issue or amendment of a code of practice. It is envisaged that such a code would address key aspects of conduct, accountability and openness by identifying the appropriate corporate and individual responsibilities expected from the trust ports. The Department is consulting the harbour authorities and the Committee for Regional Development on the detailed proposals for inclusion in such a code.
In developing the legislative proposals, the Department consulted extensively with the harbour authorities, port users in the regions, the Committee for Regional Development, district councils and other bodies. The views expressed during the consultation process have been considered and, where appropriate, taken on board. The Committee for Regional Development has made a considerable contribution to the development of the legislation, and will, with the Assembly’s support, have the opportunity to consider the detailed drafting of the Bill and report to the Assembly on it. I welcome the opportunity to hear Members’ views, and I encourage them to support this short, but useful, Bill.

Mr Alan McFarland: The Chairperson of the Committee for Regional Development has asked me to extend his apologies for being unable to attend today.
The Bill is, undoubtedly, important, and the Committee has campaigned for it for some time. I thank the Minister for introducing it.
The Committee’s interest in, and support for, the Bill results from a public inquiry that took place over a year ago into the circumstances surrounding the signing of the Titanic Quarter development agreement between Harland & Wolff and the Belfast Harbour Commissioners. During that investigation, the Committee identified several areas in which the public accountability of trust ports could be improved. In particular, the Committee recognised that legislation was needed to give the Department for Regional Development the power of direction over trust ports and to introduce a code of practice similar to that in Great Britain.
When the Committee published its findings in September 2001, it recommended several steps. In brief, those were: that legislation be introduced to give the Department power of direction over the key business activities of the Port of Belfast and other trust ports; that the Department for Regional Development enter into a memorandum of understanding with each of the trust ports, pending the introduction of that legislation; that the number of locally elected representatives on each of the trust ports’ boards be increased; that a representative from the Department for Regional Development attend the board meetings of the trust ports; and that the Department consider drawing up a code of practice for all trust ports.
I am pleased to note that the Harbours Bill will ensure that all the Committee’s recommendations will be put in place, which demonstrates the professional and constructive manner in which the Committee and the Department can work together. It highlights the positive role that all Committees can play in helping to improve the governance of the country.
Some improvements to the public accountability of trust ports have already been made. The recently approved harbour Orders have provided for the number of locally elected representatives on the boards of trust ports to be increased, and several memoranda of understanding have been established. With the introduction of the Harbours Bill, the jigsaw is complete. A code of practice will be introduced, and the Department will be given the power of direction over trust ports.
The Committee for Regional Development is also pleased to note that the code of practice will require trust ports to brief the Committee formally at least once a year. That provision is welcome, and the Committee can play a positive role in helping to improve the public accountability of trust ports as a means of safeguarding the public interest. I welcome the introduction of the legislation on behalf of the Committee, which looks forward to conducting a careful scrutiny of the Bill during Committee Stage.

Mr Joe Byrne: The Harbours Bill contains the main elements that the Committee for Regional Development considers to be important to safeguard and clarify the status and remit of the functions that trust ports enjoy. The Committee held a public inquiry last year into the issues surrounding the signing of the Titanic Quarter development agreement between Harland & Wolff and the Belfast Harbour Commissioners.
The main issues concerning the Committee were the Department having the power of direction over trust ports, and a future code of practice for such ports. The Committee has been concerned for some time that trust ports have been operating under legislation which does not always seem foolproof. The clauses in the Bill address the Committee’s main concerns, and I welcome that. As a member of that Committee, I look forward to detailed scrutiny of the Bill.

Mr William Hay: I welcome the Bill. It has its origin in a major review that was conducted in 1998 by the then Department of the Environment for Northern Ireland, when a similar review was going on in Great Britain. There is no doubt that the review raised a number of issues concerning trust ports here. Three of those issues were: examining extended powers for trust ports; easing financial controls to allow them to operate more commercially; and — one of the main issues — improved accountability for harbour authorities. We have certainly taken the route of moving public accountability on with more public representatives on the bodies running the trust ports. I see it as another piece in the jigsaw that is our work on trust ports in Northern Ireland.
We should all agree that, over the years, our trust ports have been very successful. I should even go as far as to say that trust ports have often been the engines which have driven economic development in their areas and across Northern Ireland. The Bill gives the Department power to ask for information and documents and to examine issues pertaining to trust ports.
The memorandum of understanding that all port authorities have now signed governs any disposal of land around trust ports. We in the Committee were all concerned about the disposal of land at Belfast harbour. It is to be hoped that, through this short Bill, the accountability of trust ports has moved on. I am sure that we all agree that trust ports are run for the benefit of all their stakeholders in Northern Ireland.
Will the Minister and his Department examine the question of introducing further regulations for trust ports? With regard to clause 3 of the Bill, which covers the procedures for obtaining papers and dealing with false documentation provided to the Minister and the Department, does the Minister or his Department have any view on the types of financial reimbursement, such as fines, that the harbour authorities should examine?
I welcome this short Bill and hope that it increases the accountability of Northern Ireland’s trust ports.

Mr P J Bradley: I welcome the Harbours Bill and, in particular, the additional powers that will be granted to the trust port authorities permitting them to purchase land for the betterment of their overall business. In Warrenpoint one can see the problems that arise from the non-availability of land. I hope that the Bill will allow the harbour to purchase or lease land which it might identify on the County Louth side of the port. It is only a few hundred yards across the harbour. I say that in the knowledge of the pressure for a new bridge at Narrow Water, near Warrenpoint. If the purchase of such land across from the harbour were permitted, and if the powers allowed, the harbour could get involved in a scheme to facilitate the crossing of vehicular traffic, possibly by means of a toll. I look forward to further debate on that. I come from Warrenpoint and know its geography. The only available land that could be purchased is on the County Louth side of the border, and I hope that such a purchase will be allowed.

Mr Peter Robinson: I thank Members for their contributions, which make it clear that the legislation is not contentious. As the Deputy Chairperson of the Committee for Regional Development, Mr McFarland, said, the Committee played an important role in the production of the draft legislation. It has had consistent interest in the issue, and the legislation is an example of the Committee’s influence with the Department and demonstrates the positive role that it has played. That also underlines Mr Byrne’s remarks. The Committee will be studying the Bill thoroughly, and I look forward to its response. However, members of the Committee will not find any surprises in the legislation, given their background knowledge of the subject.
Both Mr Bradley and Mr Hay raised issues about where the Department will be moving with regard to further regulations or legislation. Mr Bradley mentioned the ability of ports to become more competitive and the need to look at what can be done to improve their position. In bringing the Bill forward, the Department is looking primarily at public accountability — a matter that Mr Hay addressed in detail.
The legislation does not in any way reflect a lack of trust in the board members of any of the trust ports in Northern Ireland. In recent years in all spheres of public life, there has been a move towards improved public accountability, and so it should be; that has also happened in the private sector. The legislation is a means of clarifying the respective roles of trust ports and the Department, and that will be beneficial to the relationship between the ports and the Department.
It is necessary to recognise that elected representatives and a devolved Assembly are better placed than the harbour commissioners to assess the public interest that may attach to any development proposals, and the legislation takes that into account. That leaves the harbour commissioners free to focus on the needs of the ports, and on their fiduciary responsibilities.
The Harbours Bill deals primarily with public accountability. The Department remains committed to further extending the commercial powers of trust ports to enable them to compete better with their counterparts in the Republic of Ireland, and to amending and updating our harbours legislation generally. For example, further legislation might make provision for the harbour authorities to promote a company or enter into a joint venture in relation to business activity beyond the scope of the port undertaking. Indeed, it might make provision for the harbour authorities to promote leisure activities and tourism, or to carry out the activities of shipping agents, for example, to promote new routes. It might make provision to empower the harbour authorities to acquire a business or undertaking not directly related to the management or maintenance of the harbours, but which would be of benefit to the port. The Department is looking at all of those issues, but the policy basis for such a Bill is not yet in place. Given the lengthy consultation process necessary, it is likely to be some time before the Department will be in a position to present the next harbours Bill to the Assembly.
Mr Hay mentioned the issue of fines, which is dealt with in clause 3 of the Bill. The clause refers to a fine on summary conviction that does not exceed level 4 on the standard scale. Over the weekend, I may have had cause to examine what the potential fines might be. I have been told that level 4 brings the fine up to around £2,000. In that instance, the Office of the Legislative Counsel has given new advice to the Department. During the Committee Stage of the Bill, the Department will discuss with the Committee making a change to that and, perhaps, bringing forward an amendment that will allow the Department more flexibility.
As I said at the start of the debate, the need for the legislation arises from the growing interest of the general public and elected representatives in the activities and future development plans of the individual harbour authorities. The passage of the legislation will better equip the Department to safeguard the public interest with regard to such matters in future. I am grateful to the Committee for Regional Development for the support that it has given to the Department, to date, in the development of the legislation. I commend the Bill to the Assembly.
Question put and agreed to.
Resolved:
That the Second Stage of the Harbours Bill (NIA Bill 5/02) be agreed.

Mr Donovan McClelland: The Bill stands referred to the Committee for Regional Development.

Limited Liability Partnerships Bill: Further Consideration Stage

Mr Donovan McClelland: No amendments to the Bill have been tabled. The Further Consideration Stage of the Limited Liability Partnerships Bill is, therefore, concluded. The Bill stands referred to the Speaker.

Open-Ended Investment Companies Bill: Further Consideration Stage

Mr Donovan McClelland: No amendments to the Bill have been tabled. The Further Consideration Stage of the Open-Ended Investment Companies Bill is, therefore, concluded. The Bill stands referred to the Speaker.

State Pension Credit Bill: Final Stage

Mr Nigel Dodds: I beg to move
That the State Pension Credit Bill (NIA Bill 4/02) do now pass.
The State Pension Credit Bill is, essentially, good news. It is a vital element of the strategy to ensure that both present and future pensioners in Northern Ireland can avoid poverty. It will add £50 million to the money that pensioners at the lower end of the income distribution are entitled to receive. Half of all pensioners stand to gain. The average gain is about £400 a year. In addition, the Bill removes the unfairness of the present capital rules and reduces the intrusion into pensioners’ affairs by making five-year awards to those who are over 65 years of age, thus abolishing the weekly means test. All in all, the Bill contains good news for pensioners in Northern Ireland.
Question put and agreed to.
Resolved:
That the State Pension Credit Bill (NIA Bill 4/02) do now pass.

Commissioner for Children and Young People Bill: Committee Stage (Period Extension)

Mr Edwin Poots: I beg to move
That, in accordance with Standing Order 31(5), the period referred to in Standing Order 31(3) be extended to 22 November 2002, in relation to the Committee Stage of the Commissioner for Children and Young People Bill (NIA 20/01).
The Commissioner for Children and Young People Bill, which passed its Second Stage in July 2002, stands referred to the Committee of the Centre. The Bill is one of the most significant pieces of legislation to be introduced in the Assembly. Its main purpose is to provide for the appointment and remit of a children’s commissioner for Northern Ireland.
Last year, the Committee of the Centre undertook a major inquiry into the role and remit of a children’s commissioner, and the Bill, as drafted, reflects many of the Committee report’s recommendations. The Committee of the Centre, as part of its rigorous scrutiny of the Bill, sought views and comments from organisations that had a direct interest in the work of a commissioner. The Committee has received detailed written submissions from a wide range of organisations and individuals. The Committee has also taken oral evidence from several of those organisations, including the Commissioner for Children in Wales.
Scrutiny of the clauses is now under way. Several issues have already emerged, and those will require full and careful examination. Therefore the Committee requests an extension until 22 November to provide adequate time to consider all the measures covered in the Bill and to produce a report to the Assembly. I assure the House that the Committee has given priority to the Committee Stage of the Bill and will complete its work as quickly as possible. To ensure that there is no delay, several further meetings, in addition to normal Committee meetings, have been held.
Question put and agreed to.
Resolved:
That, in accordance with Standing Order 31(5), the period referred to in Standing Order 31(3) be extended to 22 November 2002, in relation to the Committee Stage of the Commissioner for Children and Young People Bill (NIA 20/01).

Marriage Bill: Committee Stage (Period Extension)

The Chairperson of the Committee for Finance and Personnel (Mr Molloy):

I beg to move
That, in accordance with Standing Order 31(5), the period referred to in Standing Order 31(3) be extended to 4 November 2002, in relation to the Committee Stage of the Marriage Bill (NIA 18/01).
Go raibh maith agat, a LeasCheann Comhairle. The Committee Stage of the Marriage Bill is due to conclude formally on 10 October 2002, by which time the Committee is required to report its findings to the Assembly. The Committee has completed its deliberations on the Bill, and a draft report is being prepared.
The Committee is dealing with two other Bills, the Budget and two inquiries. The motion to extend Committee Stage until 4 November 2002 is a precautionary measure to ensure that the Committee is able to approve and publish the report on the Bill. The Committee is content that it will be able to report its findings to the Assembly by the new deadline. I ask Members to support the motion.
Question put and agreed to.
Resolved:
That, in accordance with Standing Order 31(5), the period referred to in Standing Order 31(3) be extended to 4 November 2002, in relation to the Committee Stage of the Marriage Bill (NIA 18/01).

Family Law (Divorce Etc.) Bill: Committee Stage (Period Extension)

The Chairperson of the Committee for Finance and Personnel (Mr Molloy):

I beg to move
That, in accordance with Standing Order 31(5), the period referred to in Standing Order 31(3) be extended to 9 December 2002, in relation to the Committee Stage of the Family Law (Divorce etc.) Bill (NIA 1/02).
Go raibh maith agat, a LeasCheann Comhairle. The Committee Stage of the Family Law (Divorce etc.) Bill is due to conclude formally on 8 November 2002, by which time the Committee is required to report its findings to the Assembly.
At Second Stage, several Members raised concerns about the Bill and mentioned the need to strengthen the institution of marriage. The Committee has written to many interest groups inviting them to submit evidence and will need time to consider the responses and hear oral evidence within its already overloaded programme. The Committee wishes to consider this important Bill carefully and ensure that the Assembly receives a well-balanced, informed report. As a precautionary measure, the Committee is asking Members to agree to an extension of the Committee Stage to 9 December 2002. The Committee will make every effort to complete the Committee Stage as soon as possible to ensure that there is no delay in the passage of the Bill. I ask Members to support the motion.
Question put and agreed to.
Resolved:
That, in accordance with Standing Order 31(5), the period referred to in Standing Order 31(3) be extended to 9 December 2002, in relation to the Committee Stage of the Family Law (Divorce etc.) Bill (NIA 1/02).

Belfast Rape Crisis and Sexual Abuse Centre

Dr Esmond Birnie: I beg to move
That this Assembly notes the dire financial situation of the Belfast Rape Crisis and Sexual Abuse Centre and calls upon the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety and the Northern Ireland Office to provide adequate funding to ensure the long-term future of the centre.
I am grateful for the opportunity to move the motion standing in my name and that of my Colleagues, Rev Robert Coulter and Mrs Carson. I apologise on their behalf for their absence — they have been unavoidably detained. Rape crisis and associated sexual abuse is a serious problem and, as we are all sadly aware, an increasing one. The purpose of the motion is to highlight the response of the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety and, to a degree, that of the Northern Ireland Office to the inadequate financial support for the Belfast Rape Crisis and Sexual Abuse Centre.
It is worth emphasising the value of the centre and the positive contribution that it has made, and continues to make, despite its fragile financial basis. It provides a wide range of services free of charge. It deals with adults, children, males and females and provides a free phone service for enquiries. The centre has been in operation for 20 years.
The centre receives £32,000 per annum from the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety and up to £7,000 from Belfast City Council. Because of such limited financial support, the centre has a £20,000 deficit. Arguably, it is not enough simply to clear the deficit; money is also needed to provide an adequate foundation for future work. The centre has only just been able to survive by paying low wages to its two full-time workers and by the extensive use of volunteers. It receives 3,000 new contacts every year — and it helps up to 3,000 people every year. That will give Members some measure of the scale of the problem that the centre is attempting to tackle.
We tabled the motion because we believe that the centre is underfunded and has been since it was set up in the early 1980s. Recently, members of my party and I met representatives from the centre to discuss why support from the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety and other Government agencies has been so consistently low. This is an especially pressing question, given that it is the only agency in Northern Ireland providing a full range of free support services to victims of rape and serious sexual abuse.
There has been controversy and confusion about the state of play as regards the recent funding application made to the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: undoubtedly, that issue will be raised again today. The centre’s staff believe that they submitted the application on time. Even if it was not received by the deadline, why did the Department not find the situation strange, given that it has had a 20-year relationship with the centre? At that time, departmental officials were meeting representatives of the centre more or less weekly. Surely, the alleged failure to submit an application by the deadline should have been raised in time for something to be done about it.
In any case, the issue of when and if the application was lodged is a bit of a technical distraction, given the crucial point that this important area of support for public health has been underfunded for most of the last two decades. That should have been obvious to the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety and to the associated Government bodies some time ago.
It might be asked why there is a reference to the Northern Ireland Office (NIO) in the motion in addition to the challenge to the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety. Natural justice requires that the NIO should also provide some support, notwithstanding the distinction between transferred and non-transferred matters. There are two reasons for that. First, the NIO already gives support to various victims of violence: by extension, why should it not provide support for the victims of sexual violence? Secondly, the NIO provides generous support to rehabilitate ex-prisoners. The interests of natural justice require us to ask why the NIO should not similarly support those who have had tremendous trauma imposed upon them through no fault of their own.
I am pleased to move the motion.

Mrs Annie Courtney: I support the motion. The Rape Crisis and Sexual Abuse Centre (NI) is associated with the Network of Rape Crisis Centres Ireland. As was mentioned earlier, a helpline is provided free of charge for victims of sexual violence. Some time ago, the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety passed an application for research funding to the Minister. Disappointingly, there has been no response to date.
The centre has been in existence for over 20 years and deals with more than 3,000 cases a year. It receives £32,000 per annum. Other organisations deal with similar issues but do not act in conjunction with the centre.
Sexual violence against women, children and men is not decreasing. All the evidence suggests that it is a growing problem. Since the centre’s establishment, it has played a vital role in dealing with the problem. Over the years, it has built up an unequalled body of expertise and skills in helping victims of sexual violence through their ordeal, both during police investigations and during subsequent criminal trials. The centre also plays a critical role in counselling victims in the aftermath of criminal proceedings.
The centre has never been adequately funded. In the past, the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety provided some funding, and some district councils made contributions; for example, Belfast City Council allocates approximately £7,000 a year. However, the centre has limped along for years on a shoestring budget, which is not good enough. Its recent financial crisis was so serious that its telephones were cut off temporarily; Members may have watched a programme about that on television.
It is unacceptable for such an essential organisation to be constantly in that position. Society could not cope with the problem of sexual violence without the expert help that the centre provides. Given that, the burden of its funding should not fall on the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety alone. This is a human rights issue and has implications for all Ministers who are responsible for children’s policies, policies on women’s issues and the criminal justice system, so I call on all Ministers and officials in the Northern Ireland Office to consider their responsibilities and produce a funding formula to enable the Rape Crisis and Sexual Abuse Centre to continue its essential work.

Mr William Hay: Rape and sexual abuse are major issues, not only in Belfast but across the Province. People in my constituency who counsel the victims of sexual abuse and rape help about 60 people a week and, because their service is seriously underfunded, there is a serious backlog.
Rape and sexual abuse here are increasing. The proposer of the motion, Dr Birnie, should remember that the funding crisis extends to other centres in Northern Ireland, which employ staff who are equally dedicated to their work. The work, effort and time put in by those people, often in difficult circumstances during which they must listen to people who have been raped or abused, cannot be quantified. Some of the stories are horrifying, and it is a tragedy that none of the centres receives adequate funds to deal with the many problems that result from sexual abuse.
I remind the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety that the problem must be tackled, not only in Belfast but across the Province. I would like her to formulate a strategic plan for all the centres. That is not to take anything away from the comments of Dr Birnie and the Member for Foyle, Mrs Courtney, who made a good case for the centre in Belfast. I urge the Minister to begin a strategic review of all the centres in Northern Ireland.

Ms Sue Ramsey: Go raibh maith agat, a LeasCheann Comhairle. Like other Members, I wish to commend the work that is being done in many rape crisis centres in the North, sometimes voluntarily. The Belfast Rape Crisis and Sexual Abuse Centre does crucial work with survivors of abuse. Such groups ensure that survivors’ voices are heard in places such as the Assembly.
I agree with Mr Hay that that work is going on throughout the North and that many of the organisations carrying out that work are underfunded. However, more crucially, the voluntary and community sectors are also underfunded. I had a meeting in my constituency recently with a funder of a local centre in which great work is being done. Groups such as those are living from hand to mouth because they cannot get long-term funding and do not know where they are going. We must realise the impact that that underfunding has and have a fundamental review of the good work that the voluntary and community sectors carry out.
However, I am concerned about some issues that other Members have mentioned. According to recent media reports, the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety received no funding application from the Belfast Rape Crisis and Sexual Abuse Centre. I have had no contact with the centre, but Dr Birnie said that it believes that it submitted an application. I welcome the Minister’s presence in the Chamber. Will she tell the House if that funding application was submitted? Will she outline how it is progressing, and will she let us know when it will be resolved so that Members can get a clear picture of what is going on?
As former Deputy Chairperson of the Public Accounts Committee, I and other members of that Committee were critical of the previous practice of applications being made willy-nilly with no follow-up mechanism. In fact, the Committee wrote a report on that, so its concerns are on record. I am concerned — and I do not take away from the good work being done in those centres — that we do not go down that road. If criteria are in place, we must implement them.
I ask the Minister again to explain to the House what is happening with that application. Dr Birnie says one thing, media speculation says another, and I have just received a press release from the centre. Again, like other Members, I wish to commend the work, which is occasionally voluntary, that is done sometimes 24 hours a day, seven days a week in many of these centres, and I should like to reiterate Mr Hay’s point that this is not just in Belfast; groups throughout the North are doing such work.

Mr Kieran McCarthy: I speak on behalf of my Colleague Mrs Eileen Bell, who is elsewhere on Assembly business and cannot attend the debate.
Mrs Bell has actively supported the work of the Belfast Rape Crisis and Sexual Abuse Centre for some time. The suffering of rape victims remains unacknowledged by most people. Their trauma and stress is virtually ignored by the public and is certainly not best served by current legislation. The staff of the rape crisis centre have been working with commitment, loyalty and great experience with neither salaries nor, indeed, acceptable working conditions.
Mrs Bell has been in touch with the Office of the First Minister and the Deputy First Minister and with the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety, who we are glad to see in the Chamber. Those Ministers seem to ignore the urgency of the situation. I understand that no wages have been paid to staff in the centre for several months, and it is ludicrous to say that no payment can be made, even pro tem, because the Department has allegedly not received a revised application. The centre has received core funding for more than 20 years, and is evidently still being used. Therefore why has no money been given in lieu of the arrival of an application for funding?
The Rape Crisis and Sexual Abuse Centre’s mission statement says that it exists to
"provide empowering confidential counselling and other services free of charge for survivors of sexual assault and to campaign with survivors to increase awareness of the need to change the conditions in society which make sexual violence and abuse possible."
The centre’s annual report shows that it provides face-to-face counselling in 79% of cases and that the remainder are dealt with by telephone. Survivors tell stories of nightmares, flashbacks and suicidal feelings. The centre provides the only available practical help and support, along with services that are vital to the survivors’ encouragement and continued survival.
The low rate of reporting incidents of rape and sexual assault to the police means that, although the PSNI has greatly improved its approach to dealing with such crimes, victims still fear interviews and court appearances. Moreover, the sentences that are usually handed down do not reflect the damage that has been done to the victim. The way in which victims are treated and the lack of sensitive ways in which they can give evidence mean that the legal system for such crimes is utterly horrendous and must be attended to immediately. The Alliance Party supports the recommendations that if the Bar Council is not prepared to implement a code of practice, one must be imposed upon it by statute, and that judges must also use their powers to curb the worst excesses of the legal vultures.
It is accepted that sexual offenders against women and children enjoy a high acquittal rate. If a sentence is imposed, it rarely reflects the gravity of the crime. We must bring such sentences into line with the deep trauma that is inflicted by the guilty on the innocent victim. Some judges must completely change their mindset, and instances of plea-bargaining should be greatly reduced, if not eradicated.
The issue of rape and sexual abuse has been overlooked. Organisations such as the Rape Crisis and Sexual Abuse Centre have had to deal with it on a totally inadequate budget, with little public recognition or acknowledgement. The Assembly must support the centre’s efforts to draw up an effective business plan to provide a clear vision for the future in this sensitive area. Core funding must be made available and be commensurate with the centre’s many activities so that it will be able to contribute to the welfare and support of some of our most disadvantaged women and children.
On behalf of my party, I thank the management, staff and counsellors of the Rape Crisis and Sexual Abuse Centre for their efforts, which have been carried out effectively, in spite of an uncertain future and a lack of funding.
The Alliance Party wholeheartedly supports the motion.

Ms Jane Morrice: I, like others, support the motion. With rape and sexual abuse on the increase in Northern Ireland, and with the Rape Crisis and Sexual Abuse Centre doing, as we have heard, such valuable work, it is almost impossible to believe that its representatives must come to the Assembly with a begging bowl.

Mr Donovan McClelland: Given the seriousness of the debate, it is depressing to look around the Chamber and see the number of Members who are involved in private conversations and are not listening.

Ms Jane Morrice: Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker. I repeat that it is astounding that a centre that does such valuable work has to come to the Assembly with a begging bowl.
The Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety says that the funding crisis has come about because someone did not fill in an application form. We all have the details of the question put to the Minister by my Colleague Monica McWilliams earlier this year. She asked the Minister to make a statement on the current level of resources for the Belfast Rape Crisis and Sexual Abuse Centre and to detail proposals for the development of its work. The Minister answered that the Department was making available a grant of up to £33,000, and gave details of the conditions of the award of that grant. No mention was made of the fact that a form had not been received or that there was a potential problem.
Given the contact between the centre and the Department, why was the centre not alerted to the problem, and why was nothing done? There is no point in getting bogged down in a "did they or didn’t they" argument. The debate about filling in forms highlights the need for more help for this organisation. We must get that point across to everyone.
I understand that the application has been revised from £32,000 plus £8,000 up to perhaps £136,000, to enable the centre to employ a full-time administrator. An administrator would help to overcome the funding crisis, as he or she would be able to draw up business plans and calculate the required funding.
Questions must be asked about how much paperwork is necessary. Many voluntary and community organisations are asking whether there is a way to reduce the volume of paperwork. I agree with my Colleague Sue Ramsey that organisations must report annually, at the least. As members of the Public Accounts Committee, we realise the importance of accountability. However, there may be a way to ensure accountability while avoiding lengthy forms.
Members have mentioned the centre’s workload. It receives 3,000 calls a year. Some calls are from people who experienced sexual abuse 30 years ago and who are only ready to come forward now. There are calls from women, children and, increasingly, men, who come forward because they were abused the previous day. Mr Hay said that the centre receives 60 calls a week.
Two members of staff, Eileen Calder and Eileen Kelly, have to do everything, which involves supporting victims in the courts, answering phones, visiting hospitals and counselling traumatised victims, women and children. The staff need the patience and understanding of counsellors, the therapeutic knowledge of psychiatrists, and almost the same legal ability and dexterity as a High Court judge. We ask a great deal of them.
I was fascinated to note in the research that was prepared for us that incidents of rape have increased from 209 cases in 2000-01 to 252 cases in 2001-02. Indecent assaults on female children have dropped from 342 cases in 2000-01 to 308 cases in 2001-02, and indecent assaults on male children have dropped from 134 cases in 2000-01 to 55 cases in 2001-02, which is progress. However, one of the most shocking statistics was that, overall, sexual offences have increased from 1,176 in 2000-01 to 1,431 in 2001-02. These crimes are on the increase, and we should be doing much more about that.
It is important to note that these statistics mask the reality. Nine times out of 10, the abuser is known to the victim. In many of those cases, the victim will not want to go to the police to get the crime recorded. The statistics that I have given are the recorded statistics. All the additional cases that are handled by the centre are not recorded, and those victims do not want to go to the police.
Another surprising item of information is that an important piece of research shows that 84% of people convicted have previous convictions, one third of which are sexually related. These statistics must be taken more seriously.
Consideration of the localities shows that Foyle has a high incidence, with 144 cases last year. We have all heard of the problems in south Belfast with the student population; that area had 134 cases last year. My own area, north Down, had 79 cases. Those are the three highest incidences in Northern Ireland.
We still have much work to do. There are issues such as the extension of part V of the Police Act 1997 to allow previous investigations to be taken into account when cases are being heard, and the protection of children and vulnerable adults through the setting up of a proper vetting system. All that work is important. With its expertise, the Belfast Rape Crisis and Sexual Abuse Centre can offer much help with that.
I want to turn to one alarming — I am unsure what best to call it — obscenity. It is an Internet obscenity. I have received e-mails during the past couple of weeks that I would not even dare to repeat on the Floor of the House. They all involve the possibility of seeing free pictures of rape. I have contacted the police. People say that one can get eight or nine of these e-mails a day. They are obscene, disgusting and horrific, and children could have access to them. The centre is already working in this area to try to get "cyber police" to stop this type of obscenity coming to innocent and ordinary people, particularly young children. It is a disgusting occurrence in our society, and we must stop it.
Finally, I call for more funding, particularly core funding, for a centre that is doing so much work in this area. We must all work and take urgent action to prevent this type of thing from taking over our society.

Mr Mark Robinson: As recently as a couple of weeks ago, Belfast Rape Crisis and Sexual Abuse Centre faced its own major crisis in that it was forced to operate for 24 hours with no telephone lines. This was as a result of the centre being unable to meet payments for a phone bill of a staggering amount. Over this period of time, I am absolutely convinced that those people seeking support from the trained counsellors at the centre were thrown into further confusion and upset due to being unable to access the support which they required. It is obvious that the Belfast Rape Crisis and Sexual Abuse Centre cannot function adequately or to its full capabilities without telephone lines, which are the first point of contact for someone contacting the centre for support and advice.
Belfast Rape Crisis and Sexual Abuse Centre is one of the earliest established centres in the UK, and it has been providing Northern Ireland with its only free and confidential service for survivors of rape for over 20 years. Right from its inception, the centre has been forced to operate on a shoestring budget. They are allocated the minimal sum of £30,000 per annum from the Department of Health and Social Services. That figure does not even come close to what is required to enable the centre to function properly. The crisis centre is an organisation which must be maintained. The latest crime statistics in my constituency of South Belfast have revealed a 42% increase in sex attacks in that area this year alone. I cannot praise the centre enough and the service that it provides; free, supportive and sympathetic advice and counselling to the victims of the heinous crime of rape.
The centre provides support at all levels: for example, it offers therapy support and Northern Ireland’s only free phone line for victims of sexual abuse. The centre is unique in that it also provides court support. Many women do not report rape for fear of the treatment they will receive from the legal system. Women who do go through the courts are often left feeling that they have been raped all over again, as they have to relive the terrifying events and are left feeling traumatised after giving evidence. This is, once again, where the centre becomes involved. Its counsellors offer court support and advise and counsel women on how to cope with their experiences in court. As a result of this support, many women have found the courage to go through the legal system, and many perpetrators of this crime have been put behind bars.
This debate is concentrating on the funding crisis which the centre is facing. The centre is living from one year to the next, not knowing if it will get the finance to allow it to continue its valuable work. The reality unfortunately is that the level of funding is limited and the level of dependency great. The centre needs £150,000 each year to enable it to provide its services properly. The current level of funding totals just £32,000 each year, which is nowhere near the amount required to enable the centre to operate to its full capacity.
It simply baffles me that organisations such as the Belfast centre are forced into this position, when recent patterns of underspending by Departments have emerged. Resources must be managed better, so that the work which voluntary organisations do day and daily is not put in jeopardy. It is therefore essential that the necessary finance is made available to the centre if we are to avert a similar crisis in the future.

Mr John Kelly: Go raibh maith agat, a LeasCheann Comhairle. I commend the work of the Belfast Rape Crisis and Sexual Abuse Centre in providing support for the survivors of child and adult sexual abuse and assault. Moreover, it is essential that there is a properly funded service to support such victims. I am almost reluctant to take an objective view of the circumstances surrounding the motion, because it is so emotive. I have serious concerns about what is happening in the centre — assuming that the report in today’s ‘Irish News’ is correct — and questions must be asked.
Given the dire financial circumstances of the centre, why was it so tardy in making an application for funding? We have heard different stories about funding, and maybe the Minister will be able to reply to them. Members have, on other occasions, raised the need for transparency and probity. However, on this occasion they seem to be setting those things to one side, which makes it difficult to attempt to be objective about this emotive situation.
The centre was given £6,000 to put together a business plan. What happened to that business plan? Was it ever presented to the Department, and what happened to the money allocated for it? Other centres outside Belfast are attempting to deal with the problem of rape in their own way.
Why, instead of going through the normal funding channels that every other voluntary organisation adheres to, is the Belfast Rape Crisis and Sexual Abuse Centre using the media and the Assembly as the vehicle for its funding application? I have difficulty with that, and I would like to hear an explanation from it and others.
I do not wish to discount the work that is going on, but we must try to be objective. I would be the first to accept that, if a voluntary organisation feels that a Department has treated it unfairly, it should have recourse to MLAs. However, on this occasion, the organisation did not take the opportunity to speak to me or to my Colleague Sue Ramsey. Why, if no funding application was made, do we have the motion and all the publicity surrounding it?
Given that the Belfast Rape Crisis and Sexual Abuse Centre received substantial funding to prepare a strategic plan, why did it not deliver that plan? We might also ask whether there has been a proper audit of the centre’s finances to ascertain exactly how the organisation has used the not inconsiderable amount of taxpayers’ money that has been allocated to it over the years. How has it arrived, year after year, at this situation of dire financial straits, without it being flagged up in a substantive way to those of us who share the concerns of survivors of rape and child sexual abuse? We deal with those issues on an ongoing basis in our constituencies.
It is essential that those centres carry out their voluntary work efficiently. However, we must also have a sense of probity about the financial structures with which those organisations surround themselves.

Mr Jim Shannon: Members have highlighted the needs of the Belfast Rape Crisis and Sexual Abuse Centre. Most of the issues have been mentioned; I do not wish to repeat them. The centre looks after several cases in my constituency of Strangford and in the Ards Borough Council area.
I have become aware of the number of people that have been abused and the need for the centre over the past 12 to 15 months. It is not just a question of those who have been abused in the last few months and years; several people have come forward for help who were abused 10, 15, 20 and even 25 years ago. Those people are still traumatised by what happened to them.
As a result of the numbers of people who asked me about this issue, I met the chairman of the Ulster Community and Hospitals Health and Social Services Trust to see if he could get funding to address the needs for such services in the Ards Borough Council area and, specifically, on the Ards Peninsula. He agreed that assistance was required, but if the money were granted, other services would suffer. My frustration was apparent to the chairman and his officials, but more apparent to my constituents, and to the Belfast Rape Crisis and Sexual Abuse Centre.
That is an example of the difficulties faced. The small way in which this issue is being addressed touches only the tip of the iceberg. The organisation supplies two hours of counselling in the Ards Hospital. That comes nowhere near to meeting the needs of people, most of whom have to travel to Belfast for assistance. Even then, the necessary funding was not apparent.
Although I support the motion, there should be a strategic review to help the people and organisations within the Health Department who look after rape and sexual abuse victims. It is important that that strategic review address all related issues, not just in the Strangford constituency but in all others. My Colleagues William Hay and Mark Robinson mentioned the need for assistance in their constituencies of Foyle and South Belfast.
We want a strategic review and a plan of action on the whole process, to zero in on where the problems are and give the necessary financial budget. If, God forbid, the Belfast Rape Crisis and Sexual Abuse Centre stopped its work tomorrow, the Government could not jump in, take over and continue its work, and that is a problem.
Members should recognise — and I think that the Assembly will recognise — the work of the centre. However, Members want the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety and the Government to take on this case and to provide the necessary financial assistance to help the dozens, hundreds and even thousands who need help. In a small way, I realise the needs of some people, because my constituents come to me as other people go to their Assembly Members. The cry coming from Members is for more finance and help for those people. That can only happen if the finance is there and the Departments are doing their best to help.

Mr Danny Kennedy: It was not my intention to make a contribution, but I was astonished at that made by Mr John Kelly, the Member for Mid Ulster. After serving up the usual platitudes and paying due tribute to the work of the Belfast Rape Crisis and Sexual Abuse Centre, he proceeded to put the boot in in a highly political manner.

Mr John Kelly: Will the Member give way?

Mr Danny Kennedy: No, the Member will not give way. Mr Kelly, you got your opportunity to speak.

Mr John Kelly: On a point of order, a LeasCheann Comhairle.

Mr Donovan McClelland: Mr Kelly, I hope that this is a point of order.

Mr John Kelly: Is it relevant to use "put the boot in" in these circumstances?

Mr Donovan McClelland: Order.

Mr John Kelly: Is that a valid comment to make?

Mr Donovan McClelland: I am not sure whether it is parliamentary.

Mr Danny Kennedy: "Put the boot in" is the only apt term that could be used. Clearly, Mr Kelly is being used as a noble cat’s paw, the ministerial spokesperson or the warm-up person to the Minister. It will be interesting to hear what the Minister has to say about the applications submitted by the centre, how they were processed and what assistance — if any — was given to it in its funding difficulties.
It is interesting that Mr Kelly concerned himself with issues of probity and questions which ultimately served to undermine the alleged comments of support that he promoted in the early part of his contribution. The manner in which Mr Kelly sought to undermine the credibility and attack the integrity of the centre left many Members with a bad taste in their mouths. It is almost unbelievable that that would happen in a debate in which members of the Belfast Rape Crisis and Sexual Abuse Centre have no recourse to respond as to how they dealt with applications. It is unfortunate and wrong of the Member for Mid Ulster to have made his contribution as he did.
I will be interested to hear the Minister’s response on what help was offered and how she will address the various points that are now in the public domain. This essential service has been reduced to having to come to the Floor of the Assembly to beg for financial support to remain operational. Perhaps the Minister will reflect that if she wasted less money on some of her personal crusades, such as the promotion of the Irish language, groups such as the Belfast Rape Crisis and Sexual Abuse Centre might not face such unfortunate difficulties.

Ms Bairbre de Brún: Go raibh maith agat, a LeasCheann Comhairle. Tá mé buíoch den Dr Esmond Birnie as an rún seo a mholadh mar go dtugann sé deis domh seasamh mo Roinne a shoiliéiriú maidir le maoiniú don Ionad Éigeandála um Éigniú agus Mhí-úsáid Gnéis Bhéal Feirste.
Tá mo Roinn ag tabhairt tacaíochta airgeadais don eagraíocht seo le cuid mhaith blianta. Caithfidh gach eagraíocht a fhaigheann an cineál seo tacaíochta airgeadais iarratas scríofa a dhéanamh agus eolas ar mhonatóireacht bliantúil a sholáthar don Roinn mar choinníoll don deontas. Le blianta beaga anuas, áfach, sháraigh go leanúnach ar an Ionad Éigeandála um Éigniú agus Mhí-úsáid Gnéis eolas ar mhonatóireacht bliantúil a sholáthar. Mar thoradh air sin, tá maoiniú ceadaithe ag mo Roinn don Ionad Éigeandála um Éigniú agus Mhí-úsáid Gnéis ar bhonn bliana seachas ar bhonn trí bliana mar is gnách.
Le tamall anuas, tá mo chuid feidhmeannach ag déanamh iarrachta oibriú leis an ionad le léargas níos soiléire a fháil ar staid airgeadais na heagraíochta agus le hoibriú amach cad is féidir a dhéanamh le cuidiú léi tabhairt faoina deacrachtaí reatha. Leithroinn mo Roinn £11,000 breise chuige seo le trealamh ríomhaireachta a cheannach agus le plean gnó straitéiseach a fhorbairt. Samhlaíodh go ndéanfadh an plean gnó beartaithe plean gníomhaíochta trí bliana a fhorbairt; straitéis phraiticiúil struchtúrtha maoinithe a chruthú; struchtúr bainistíochta soiléir cuntasach a bhunú; agus íomhá agus margaíocht a fheabhsú don úsáideoir agus do mhaoinitheoirí féideartha mar eagraíocht ghairmiúil. Go dtí seo, áfach, níor éirigh leis an phlean gnó seo teacht i gcrích.
Mr Deputy Speaker, I am grateful to Dr Birnie for tabling the motion, as it allows me the opportunity to clarify my Department’s position regarding the funding of the Belfast Rape Crisis and Sexual Abuse Centre. The Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety has been providing financial support to the organisation for many years. All organisations receiving this type of financial support are required to make written application and provide the Department with annual monitoring information as a condition of the grant.
Unfortunately, in recent years, the Belfast Rape Crisis and Sexual Abuse Centre has continuously failed to provide annual monitoring information. As a result, the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety placed the centre’s funding on an annual footing, rather than the three-year cycle that normally pertains.
The motion specifically addresses the long-term future of the centre. My officials have been trying to work with the centre for some time to establish a clearer picture of its financial position and to determine what might feasibly be done to help the centre to address its current difficulties and then to focus on the key issue of long-term sustainability. To that end, my Department allocated an additional £11,000 to purchase computer equipment and develop a strategic business plan. It was envisaged that the proposed business plan would develop a three-year action plan; create a structured and practical funding strategy; establish a clear accountable management structure; and improve image and marketing to the end user and the potential funders as a professional organisation.
Unfortunately, the business plan has so far failed to materialise. The Belfast Rape Crisis and Sexual Abuse Centre has experienced ongoing difficulty in complying with the terms and conditions applicable to grants, with the late submission of the requested monitoring information — audited accounts, annual reports, details of how the grant has been attributed and an organisational forward plan.
I reiterate that it is a measure of the Department’s commitment that, in March 2001, it awarded the Belfast Rape Crisis and Sexual Abuse Centre £6,500 of the additional £11,000 in funding to employ an independent consultant to help it to develop a strategic plan to turn it into a creative organisation that could ultimately achieve sustainability. To date, that plan has not materialised.

Mr Danny Kennedy: Will the Minister give way?

Ms Bairbre de Brún: No.
Issues have been raised about adequate funding. The compact between Government and the voluntary and community sector, which was published in December 1998 and endorsed by the Assembly in early 2000, recognised the need for a more co-ordinated strategic approach to the funding of the voluntary and community sector in general. To address that matter, my Department is participating in a major cross-departmental review of Government support to the voluntary and community sector. It is hoped that the outcome of that review will ease the funding situation. In the interim I will continue to seek additional funding.
With regard to funding for the Belfast Rape Crisis and Sexual Abuse Centre, the Department awards grants of up to 75% of the amount requested. The centre has not submitted a case for increased funding. However, it received additional funding of £11,281 in 2001 and £3,500 in 1998-99.
Questions were asked about the Department’s strategic approach. My Department and the Executive are concerned about sexual abuse and its impact on the individual, and we are committed to tackling the issue. Until now, most developments and services for survivors of sexual abuse have been included in wider service developments, such as child protection arrangements or the mental health services. However, the Department accepts the need for a strong, coherent policy, and officials are discussing the matter with their counterparts in Scotland.
The Department supports survivors of sexual abuse directly through grants to voluntary organisations and indirectly through boards and trusts. The health and social services boards and trusts provide a range of services, including specialised children’s units, initial response teams, direct counselling by social workers and home visits to survivors of rape and sexual abuse.
The Department provides core funding for central administration costs to voluntary organisations that tackle issues, such as rape, sexual abuse, domestic violence and relationship counselling.
Members asked how funding is assessed and whether it is based on the organisations’ application forms. The application form is essential, but, in order for the Department to make a proper assessment of the funding required, the application must also contain certain information. For example, it must demonstrate how the organisation intends to meet the Department’s objectives in respect of the services to be provided. A regional organisation must show how it represents the region and how it proposes to achieve the aims set out in the application.
Until this morning, the Belfast Rape Crisis and Sexual Abuse Centre had not made an application to my Department for funding for the current financial year, although my Department had issued application forms and invited the organisation’s representatives to meet officials.
An e-mail version of the application form arrived at the Department this morning, a full 11 months after the first application form was issued. It is the responsibility of both the Government and their social partners in the voluntary and community sector to ensure the effective and efficient use of public moneys. It would be remiss to allocate resources without due care for accountability, and I am certain that the Members who have constantly questioned the use of funding in the Assembly would not now wish to suggest that accountability is not an issue. I am astounded to hear a Member who has raised the question of accountability again and again refer to an application form as "a bit of a technical distraction".

Mr Danny Kennedy: Will the Minister give way?

Ms Bairbre de Brún: No. The departmental procedures for grants are a basic matter of completion of application forms — forms which the Belfast Rape Crisis and Sexual Abuse Centre has been completing since 1989. I am aware of more general concerns in the wider voluntary statutory organisations about the onerous task of completing some assessments. However, our departmental procedures for grants are a matter of the basic completion of application forms; something that the organisation in question has been doing for years.
It is important to note that in the absence of verifiable evidence of need it is no easy task to assess what funding would be adequate. To establish a realistic level of funding, it is necessary for organisations to establish need; identify what is to be achieved; quantify the additional value to be gained; and commit to the monitoring and evaluation of the work undertaken. That is why those procedures exist, and that is why the Assembly again and again asks Departments and others to stick to proper criteria and procedures. My Department must consider all funding against competing priorities and financial constraints. I am aware that the junior Ministers have been in contact with Jane Kennedy about funding from the Northern Ireland Office.
I am committed to funding this type of service; I am committed absolutely to playing my part with others in providing what is needed to a vital section of society. Funding, however, is dependent on all organisations adhering to the terms and conditions of Government accounting procedures. It is also important that organisations are evaluated to ensure that they are delivering appropriate services in an effective and efficient manner. I therefore urge the organisation in question to complete the business plan, ensure that it maintains proper records and comply with the terms of any grant funding provided to it.

Dr Esmond Birnie: I should like to begin by thanking all those who spoke and, indeed, the Minister for her response. Mrs Annie Courtney rightly referred to the expertise of the centre and, like several Members, mentioned the recent problem when it had its telephone lines cut off. William Hay pointed out some of the problems dealt with by the centre, particularly in his own constituency. He highlighted the need to support all such centres carrying out this good work. Sue Ramsey commended the centre for its work and stated that there was a need for a strategy in that area of public health. Kieran McCarthy pointed out the practical help provided by the centre. Jane Morrice asked why the Department had not been alert to the fact that the centre had been tardy with its application forms. She also referred to some of the frightening statistics of rape and sexual abuse and raised the question of new and growing developments on the Internet. Mark Robinson also referred to the cutting off of the telephone lines and said that it was very significant, since the centre provided a free advice service over the telephone to people across the Province.
John Kelly commended the centre for its work. However, he asked why it had been, in his view, tardy in its application processes. Jim Shannon stated that the centre was carrying out needful work and referred to his constituency of Strangford. My Colleague, Danny Kennedy, outlined his astonishment, particularly at Mr Kelly’s comments.
The Minister attempted to clarify her Department’s position. She referred to money granted to the centre for its business plan, which she said had not yet been produced. The business plan is delaying an obvious conclusion that we can already come to: there is substantial underfunding in this case and that the work is immensely valuable. It is a chicken-and-egg situation. On one hand, for two decades the centre has been on a shoestring budget. However, on the other hand, it probably has problems with administration and housekeeping.
I appeal to the Minister to look favourably on better funding for the centre when the business plan and applications are produced. It can be argued that, in the long run, funding spent in this way represents good value for money: the centre and similar bodies deal with problems and counsel people in trauma at an early stage. Such help prevents their medical, psychiatric and mental health problems from worsening and stops the individuals appearing at another part of the Health Service with an even greater demand on resources to pay for treatment.
I would have thought that the Minister would have found it possible to be more supportive of the Rape Crisis and Sexual Abuse Centre, given her, and her party’s, professed attachment to political radicalism and certain varieties of feminism. On 23 September, Eileen Calder of the Rape Crisis and Sexual Abuse Centre referred to the "iron law of oligarchy" in the ‘Belfast Telegraph’. She felt that it had influenced the attitudes of the Department and hence, by implication, the Minister in supporting that needful work.
I said that the need for additional moneys is obvious even without the business plan. One way to prove that is to contrast the situation with that South of the border. I am sure that the Minister is well aware of that. In the Republic of Ireland, rape crisis centres operating in cities much smaller than Belfast, such as Galway and Limerick, receive much higher public support — sometimes two to three times higher.
As many Members have said, there is a need for a good strategy to deal with the victims of rape and sexual abuse.
Question put and agreed to.
Resolved:
That this Assembly notes the dire financial situation of the Belfast Rape Crisis and Sexual Abuse Centre and calls upon the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety and the Northern Ireland Office to provide adequate funding to ensure the long-term future of the centre.
The sitting was suspended at 1.44 pm.
On resuming (Mr Deputy Speaker [Mr J Wilson] in the Chair) —

Enterprise, Trade and Investment

I wish to inform Members that questions 2, 7 and 9, standing in the names of Mr John Fee, Mrs Joan Carson and Mr David Hilditch respectively, have been withdrawn and will not receive written answers. Question 13, standing in the name of Ms Michelle Gildernew, has also been withdrawn but will require a written answer.

Lough Neagh Tourism

1. asked the Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment to give an update on his policy to develop and promote Lough Neagh as a major tourist attraction.
(AQO212/02)


It is fully recognised that the Lough Neagh wetlands, as an activity destination, are a greatly underutilised resource. The Lough Neagh management strategy, launched in June 2002, provides the necessary framework for the wise use of the resource, including its development for tourism. The Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment, through the Northern Ireland Tourist Board, is committed to working with relevant partners to ensure its implementation.


Does the Minister agree that Lough Neagh has the potential to be a major tourist attraction, contrary to what is suggested by the low number of visitors there this summer? Can he ensure that when the area is developed, its environmental assets will be conserved?


With regard to the Member’s last point, the conservation of the area must, of course, be a guiding principle in how it is developed, because no one wants to see the area ruined. I was in the area on Saturday evening at the opening of an equestrian centre. Given the reports that the Department has received, and the potential that clearly exists, the area is undoubtedly underutilised. Water sports-related activities, wildlife-related activities and equestrian activities have the potential to promote the lough as a significant destination.
At present, few people visit the area. Those visitors tend to come on day trips. The predominant use of the area is for informal recreation, as one would expect. The area has tremendous potential. Six local authority areas border the lough, and I believe that through working with them, and with the Lough Neagh Partnership, which is a new company limited by guarantee, the Department will be able to develop and implement projects, attract investment and market the area in a strategic manner. Although it is not envisaged that the Lough Neagh Partnership will carry out the statutory obligations of any agency, it will be well placed to manage strategic projects.


Members know that Lough Neagh has valuable tourist attractions. Can the Minister outline the Department’s policy for the development and promotion of established tourist attractions, such as the Giant’s Causeway and the Glens of Antrim?


I have no doubt that the Member is well skilled. If he sits in the Chamber until the end of Question Time, he may find that there is a question coming up on that particular subject. With your permission, Mr Deputy Speaker, I will decline to fall into that trap at this stage.

NITB’s New York Bills

3. asked the Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment, pursuant to AQW 389/01, how many of the New York hospitality bills listed were paid with the credit card issued to NITB’s New York manager.
(AQO190/02)


None of the bills referred to were paid with the credit card that was issued to the Northern Ireland Tourist Board’s New York manager.


I am delighted to hear that. However, can the Minister advise the House as to how he is so certain that that is the case? As I understand it, thousands of pounds worth of unaccounted bills are still outstanding, for which no receipts have been issued?


The bills were paid either through the Northern Ireland Tourist Board’s cheque journal, in accordance with normal supplier payment arrangements, or through expense claim forms, which were then processed in accordance with normal procedure. The payments have either been repaid centrally by the Tourist Board or subsequently claimed and repaid through the normal process. That is how I am able to give the Member that particular answer.


The Minister will agree that chairmen of public bodies and those charged, as accounting officers, with safeguarding the use of public money have a particular duty of care in incurring substantial expenditure on hospitality, such as that which occurred in New York. He will further agree that it is essential that such expenditure is fully in line with best practice guidance and that it can be fully defended as regards value for money.


Get to the question.


Order.


Question.


I do not need to be prompted. Are you coming to a question, Mr Dallat?


Yes, indeed. I find it rather interesting that such anxiety is expressed from across the Floor about this question.


Get on with what you were going to say, ye bigot ye.


Withdraw that.


This really is unfortunate.


Yes.


Mr Dallat, I was right to call you to order.
I ask Mr Kennedy whether he cares to withdraw that remark.


Mr Deputy Speaker, the remark is withdrawn.


Thank you.


Is the Minister satisfied that the chairman and accounting officer met expectations during the visits and events detailed in his answer to question AQW 389/01? What criteria were used to assess that?


I am not absolutely sure that I quite understand what the Member is getting at. He said that accounting officers and chairmen have a duty of care for public expenditure. I entirely agree. The purpose and rationale for having an accounting officer is that there is a person designated as being responsible for the dispersal of public funds. I entirely accept that, and it is absolutely appropriate that such a person is clearly identified.
The Member also mentioned substantial expenditure on hospitality. That must be put into perspective. Going back to 1997, there were amounts of $123·13 and $27·54, up to larger amounts such as $3,689·24. However, we are talking about the promotion of Northern Ireland in New York, which is a very expensive city. Even at its peak, average expenditure was $500 a week. At that time, Northern Ireland was a very difficult place to promote. People forget just how far we have come since then.
People must have some sense of proportion. Whether it is $27 or $3,000, accountability must remain quite clear. In the first part of my answer, I said that the accounting officer must be answerable for, in this case, every cent that is spent from the public purse. However, we must also remember the purpose of spending that money. We are up against heavy expenditure from other places. I am not altogether sure if amounts of that scale would be subject to questions in the Irish Parliament — maybe they are. However, it is important to keep everything in proportion.
The chairman and the accounting officer must ensure that the Department’s policy on expenditure of public moneys is adhered to, and, if it is not, that those involved are answerable to the Department. I am absolutely clear about that. However, as I said to Mr Close, I have been informed that in this case there was clear accountability and that the credit card in question was not used. There was a "shock, horror" reaction to the use of credit cards. Many car drivers use credit cards to pay for petrol; they are a perfectly legitimate means of dealing with public expenditure provided the procedures are in place to ensure accountability. We should not get ourselves into a twist about the use of credit cards or charge cards, because they are a good way to settle bills without using cash. The core issue is to ensure that the people who use them are accountable and answerable.


Am I correct to say that any manager who uses credit cards must submit receipts for any expenses claimed? Does the Minister agree that the number of questions that are being asked about the use of credit cards has reached epidemic proportions? Some of the questions are extremely petty. How much does it cost the Department, and thus the people of Northern Ireland, to answer those questions?


Other Ministers and I have a clear obligation to answer, to the best of our ability, any question asked by a Member, irrespective of the number of questions asked. However, perhaps Members do not always appreciate fully how much time is devoted to answering questions. I do not know the exact cost of answering questions on the use of credit cards, but I would be happy to try to find out.
I am more concerned by the fact that certain sections of my Department have to deal with many Assembly questions, which means that at peak times a client executive can spend up to 50% of his or her time answering them. That is a huge problem for the Department because it means that the officer is unable to work on other matters — [Interruption].


Order.


Irrespective of the question asked, I will continue to endeavour to give as full and frank an answer as possible. However, there comes a point when cost-effectiveness has to be taken into account.

Stress at Work

4. asked the Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment to make a statement in response to the launch of the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work’s campaign to raise awareness of the causes of stress at work.
(AQO213/02)


My Department, through the work of the Health and Safety Executive for Northern Ireland, recognises that the campaign provides an excellent opportunity to raise awareness of work-related stress. I am sure that many Members would agree with that. The European Week for Safety and Health at Work, which will run from 14 October to 20 October 2002, is the cornerstone of the campaign. Locally, the Health and Safety Executive for Northern Ireland is pursuing a comprehensive promotional programme.


Does the Minister agree that greater co-operation with the Department for Employment and Learning is needed to help to raise awareness of stress in the workplace and to help people to find a balance? In other words, perhaps an educational approach should be adopted.


The Health and Safety Executive is committed to addressing the issue of work-related stress. The Member may find the following statistics interesting. It is estimated that at any time in Northern Ireland some 12,500 people experience work-related stress, anxiety or depression. In June, the Health and Safety Executive launched the European Week for Safety and Health at Work at Maydown. It used that opportunity to encourage all organisations in Northern Ireland to address the issue of work-related stress. As part of a wide-ranging advertising campaign, over 13,000 information packs have been distributed to organisations in the Province.
The information packs describe the causes of work-related stress and provide information on how it can be prevented. Furthermore, specific information from the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work has been included. A European week awards scheme is being co-ordinated, which aims to recognise organisations that excel in their efforts to support the working on stress initiative. Local winners will be recognised during a European week awards ceremony to be held early in 2003.


I welcome the emphasis on stress-related illnesses and the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work. People often suffer disadvantages resulting from the appearance of such illness on a medical certificate. Will the Minister ensure that employees are not put under further stress by having that information on their employment record?


In my answer to Mr Kelly I omitted to mention the relationship between my Department and the Department for Employment and Learning. We have regular discussions, and training forms a key part of the activities.
Mrs Courtney made a very good point. Undoubtedly, there is a degree of prejudice about certain illnesses. It would be interesting to see how these matters are treated, particularly in the Civil Service. I cannot confirm anything for the Member at the moment; however, I shall make enquiries about the matter and I shall write to the Member, rather than give her an off-the-cuff response.


I thank the Minister for his response in relation to the launch of the European campaign. However, he omitted one point, which is the issue of those who are bullied at work. It is a big issue for many people who are off as a result. Will any help be available in the campaign he outlined for those who are subject to that type of abuse?


There are several issues here. First, we must define "stress" and how it is categorised. For instance, the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development carried out a social survey of farmers and farm families in 2001-02 to investigate the scale of work-related ill health in the farming community. The study found that 15% of the 3,400 people interviewed suffered from work-related ill health, with 5% of those interviewed reporting that stress, depression or anxiety was caused — or aggravated — by their work.
Furthermore, the situation varies between industries. Some people are continuously "off", as Mr Shannon put it, and it must be determined whether they are fit to return to work. People can be permanently disabled by stress-related illnesses. It is very difficult to be clear about stress-related illness. If someone has a broken leg, that is obvious. It is less obvious if someone is suffering from stress, and it can become progressively more difficult to analyse. The purpose behind the week of health promotion and the activity of the Health and Safety Executive is to raise awareness among employers, as well as workers. Taking Mrs Courtney’s point, people should not be discriminated against because they suffer from that disability rather than from any other.

Lagan Valley Tourism

5. asked the Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment what plans he has to provide greater support for tourism projects in the Lagan Valley constituency.
(AQO228/02)


The Northern Ireland Tourist Board and Invest Northern Ireland administer several financial assistance schemes aimed at developing visitor attractions and facilities, marketing projects, events support and business support in general. Applications for assistance under those initiatives are welcomed from projects in Lagan Valley. Support policies are continually under review and will be adjusted according to sector needs and tourism policy.


Officials from Lisburn City Council recently met the Minister and outlined the funding that the area has received from the Tourist Board in the past few years. I assume that the Minister agrees that that funding is minuscule. When will the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment and the Tourist Board realise that there are areas between Belfast and the north coast, and between Belfast and Fermanagh, that attract tourism spend? When will the Department support events in those areas?


The Tourist Board is very conscious that events happen throughout the Province. In fact, it provides East Belfast with less funding than any other constituency. In the past 10 years, £2·85 million has been offered to 19 projects in Lagan Valley. The constituency is not ignored.
Applications are vital. The Tourist Board and the Department can only give assistance for which they are asked, and the objective of my meeting with Lisburn City Council was to attract a hotel project to Lisburn. The then mayor and some of his officials referred to the Department’s moratorium, which has a radius of 10 miles from central Belfast. They felt that, were a hotel project proposed, the moratorium would be discriminatory because Lisburn would not qualify for grant aid. I made it clear that the 10-mile zone was an administrative decision, not a legal or statutory requirement. I also said that future projects would be considered carefully to determine whether they fulfilled the Department’s overall policy objectives and that they would not be ruled out on the basis of the moratorium.
Last month, officials from Invest Northern Ireland met a potential developer to discuss the establishment of a hotel in Lisburn. Those discussions are ongoing.


Last week, the Committee for Enterprise, Trade and Investment held the second of its tourism inquiry conferences in the heart of west Tyrone. During a workshop, the Committee was told that the domestic market generates the same amount of tourism revenue as visitors from the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the rest of Europe — some £66 million per annum. I am very much in favour of attracting foreign visitors to our islands —


Do you have a question, Mr McMenamin?


Yes. Does the Minister agree that, if the home market were promoted more rigorously, it could attract even more revenue, especially in areas such as the Sperrins and west Tyrone?


I made a point when the Member for North Antrim, Mr Kane, asked me a question that did not relate to the question on the Order Paper, and my response to Mr McMenamin falls into the same category. Mr McMenamin’s question does not relate to Mr Poots’s question about Lagan Valley. I have answered Mr McMenamin’s question in the past. I have no doubt that he will ask me it again in the future.

Enterprise Zones

6. asked the Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment to outline his policy on designating enterprise zones that attract grant-aided incentives.
(AQO195/02)


The Department has no plans to designate enterprise zones that attract grant-aided incentives. It uses other measures that are based on the new TSN maps, as well as a comprehensive series of policy initiatives that involve Invest Northern Ireland, to stimulate economic activity across Northern Ireland.


I pay tribute to the Department’s work in creating more industrial parks in Omagh and Strabane. However, in order to promote the small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) sector, especially in provincial areas, will it seriously consider incentives beyond selective financial assistance? Will the Minister assure Members that, to encourage economic development, the Department and the district council will seriously consider support for Fintona, which does not have an industrial park?


You know what they say, Mr Deputy Speaker: if west Tyrone does not get you one way, it will get you another.
Past policy has been to focus on industrial land and parks in centres of significant population in each district council area. Therefore, as Mr Byrne said, not every town or village necessarily has such a facility. That would spread resources very thinly over a wide area, rather than concentrate them on a limited number of areas.
We have pushed hard in the past few years to attract investment to west Tyrone, with some success in Omagh and Strabane. The Member will recall the recent investment by Rixell Ltd at Doogary Road near Omagh.
As far as incentives other than selective financial assistance are concerned, we offer industrial derating, which is not given anywhere else in these islands. Other incentives include help with training, professional advice, and advice on broadband services. I am prepared to consider suggestions for other forms of assistance. It is something that must be kept under review and should not be curtailed because of bureaucratic requirements.
If the Member has specific ideas that would help his constituency, the Department will be happy to consider them. The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development and I have other strings to our bow, be they based on European funds or LEADER, to help promote development. The combination of those incentives ought to give us a significant package to offer.


I am taken by the Minister’s specific references to aid. Given the loss of over 2,000 jobs in east Antrim, and in the light of the severe ongoing job losses there, will he urgently consider declaring east Antrim a strategic employment location in which innovation and entrepreneurship can be fast-tracked to arrest the serious and ongoing decline in the manufacturing sector there?


In view of my responses to the Member for North Antrim, who is no longer in the Chamber, and the Member for West Tyrone, I shall not answer the Member’s question specifically, because it does not relate to the question tabled. I understand his point and I shall write to him about the particular matters he referred to, but he has strayed considerably from the original question.


Go raibh maith agat, a LeasCheann Comhairle. Has the Minister had any discussions with the Tánaiste and her Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment in the South about any potential benefits that could be gained from cross-border industrial parks on both sides of the border, given the economic decline there? What benefits might be accrued from such an establishment?


Tax incentives are not a matter for this Administration; they are a reserved matter for London. Therefore, I do not hold discussions with Ms Harney about tax incentives. I am not in a position to deal with them. However, we co-operate in other areas, and we have been working closely together, as have Invest Northern Ireland and IDA Ireland, particularly in the north-west, where an initiative is under way.

Offshore Wind Farm

8. asked the Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment what assessment he has made regarding the local government consultation by the B9 Company about the proposed offshore wind farm.
(AQO180/02)


It is premature to make any assessment, because the private consortium responsible for the current proposals has only recently initiated comprehensive studies and consultations. It has distributed detailed information on a wide range of environmental and other studies, entered into discussions with local government, and made presentations on its proposals at four north-west council meetings and to the North West Region Cross Border Group.


The B9 Energy Group has spoken to several councils about the consultation process. Given the responses it has received, and the concerns that the residents of the north coast have voiced about the outcome of that process, can the Minister confirm that those concerns will be taken on board when the consultation process ends and if there are alternative sites that he will consider?


Minister, can you limit your response to about 30 seconds?


The question of sites is for the Crown Estate to determine — it owns the seabed. The Department’s role is to license the generation of electricity; it does not deal with the site. The site in question is the only suitable one around the shores of Northern Ireland. The consultation must be comprehensive, and the Department will determine whether the site is appropriate and adequate, but it is too early to decide that yet.


Minister, you dealt with that subject with perfect timing.

Employment and Learning

Questions 1, 12 and 14, standing in the names of Mr A Maginness, Mrs Carson and Ms Gildernew have been withdrawn and will receive a written answer.
Questions 2, 4, 6 and 13, standing in the names of Mr Hilditch, Mr Fee, Mr Hamilton and MrDalton, respectively have also been withdrawn but will not receive a written answer.

Review of Further Education

3. asked the Minister for Employment and Learning when she proposes to introduce education maintenance allowances for 16-to-19-year olds.
(AQO189/02)


Officials are examining the evaluation reports of the pilot schemes, which have been running in England and Scotland. In conjunction with the Minister of Education, I will consider the options which best suit Northern Ireland and bring forward joint proposals to the Executive in due course.


I am disappointed in the Minister’s reply. Those I represent, most of the 16- to-19-year olds and their parents and I would have appreciated a more definitive answer. If the scheme is to be introduced from September 2004 in England, that will be unfair to our 16- to-19-year olds as they will be disadvantaged. Will the Minister give a more precise date, bearing in mind that the draft Budget which passed through the House last week allocated to her budget a 6·2% increase, which amounts to £40 million or £50 million?


I am open to considering any scheme that will widen access, and I will do my best to ensure that financial constraint is not a barrier to further education. The Member stated that it will be at least September 2004 before the scheme is introduced in England, and if it is suitable, I hope that we will introduce it here.


Does the Minister accept that the education maintenance allowances, which allow 16- to-19-year olds to continue at school rather than seek employment, are important for some families? If education maintenance allowances are to be introduced here, can the Minister say when?


If it is decided to introduce education maintenance allowances, and I am open to any suggestions that will widen access and ensure that finance is not a barrier, it would not be before the academic year beginning September 2004. I appreciate that that weekly allowance will be a considerable help to 16-to-19-year olds from low-income families. My Department and I will give careful consideration to the thresholds and eligibility conditions.


Can the Minister confirm that the educational maintenance allowance was a factor in the failed business plan of the West Belfast Springvale campus?
Will the Minister explain how she proposes to deal with the uncertainty that many will experience as a result of her sudden decision to pull the plug on this major initiative?


I am very disappointed by this setback; I am totally committed to the Springvale project. However, the two main promoters of the project — the University of Ulster and the Belfast Institute of Further and Higher Education — have concerns about its financial viability and sustainability. It would be foolhardy for anyone to proceed until those concerns have been addressed. I have asked the board of the Springvale project to review the situation urgently, to provide me with an update and to come back to me as soon as possible with alternative options, if necessary.

Strategy for Essential Skills

5. asked the Minister for Employment and Learning to give an update on the strategy for essential skills.
(AQO200/02)


The Department for Employment and Learning has analysed feedback from the ‘Essential Skills for Living’ framework and consultation paper. A strategy and an action plan will be published by the end of September 2002. I am very pleased with the response to the consultation document. The strategy will improve greatly the lives of many people, and it will have a positive effect on society as a whole. It sets challenging targets to build capacity across providers of literacy and numeracy courses, and to engage a significant number of adults in improving their essential skills.
I am pleased that resources for the strategy were allocated in the draft Budget last week. However, the amounts are considerably lower than those allocated to similar strategies in the Republic of Ireland and in Great Britain.


Essential skills are a key issue that needs to be addressed in projects throughout Northern Ireland, particularly given that about one in four adults in Northern Ireland have the lowest levels of literacy, which, at best, is a reading age of 11. How will the essential skills strategy be funded?


The essential skills action plan is a cornerstone of my Department’s work. I certainly appreciate how vital it is that we address the awful situation in which 24% of the adult population have low literacy. As I said, although I am pleased that the draft Budget allocated resources to the essential skills strategy, the funding is less than the amount required. There is a need for significant resources to put in place a quality infrastructure in the curriculum, the assessment qualifications and tutor training, and to engage the target number of learners in the strategy in the first year of its budget. However, insufficient resources have been allocated for the second and third years to meet the needs of the large number of adults with poor literacy and numeracy skills. My Department will continue to submit bids for funding in annual Budget rounds to sustain, and, I hope, expand, that capacity.

Promotion of Entrepreneurship

7. asked the Minister for Employment and Learning what discussion she had with her Executive Colleagues regarding the promotion of entrepreneurship.
(AQO205/02)


Lead responsibility for the promotion of entrepreneurship rests with my Colleague Sir Reg Empey in the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment. I have discussed the issue with him in the context of the Economic Development Forum, and I attend the meetings that he chairs. My officials work closely with, and support, officials in the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment, the staff of Invest Northern Ireland, and officials in other Departments, on the development of a business birth-rate strategy. I do my best to ensure that my Executive Colleagues are aware of what the Department for Employment and Learning is doing to encourage entrepreneurship, by embedding the concept in everything that we do, including skills development, careers guidance and employment services.


I thank the Minister for a very full answer, and particularly for her reference that was supposed to illustrate joined-up government.
However, will she undertake to set up urgently university-level courses with entrepreneurship as their base specifically to target the over 2,000 highly qualified employees laid off by high-tech firms in east Antrim to ensure that these people create new high-tech businesses and to ensure that these skills are not dispersed across the globe? Will she undertake to work closely with her Colleague, Sir Reg Empey, to ensure that an imaginative response to this serious situation is urgently forthcoming?


I certainly acknowledge the serious situation there. I am sure that the Member is aware that we work closely in that area with employers and trainers. Some work is already being done in the universities. If the Member wants to put his suggestion in writing, we will consider it.


I congratulate the Minister on her work in encouraging entrepreneurship, particularly among young people. Given that 90% of businesses in Northern Ireland are small- to medium-sized, can she give us an assurance that the priority that she has given to encouraging entrepreneurship among young people will continue in the future?


Yes, I agree that it is essential that we concentrate on that. We do not have a great culture of entrepreneurship in Northern Ireland, and we must encourage and develop it. Although I do not wish to pre-empt the outcome of Invest Northern Ireland’s work in the development of the business birth strategy, I envisage my Department’s playing an important role in increasing the number of new business starts as set out in the Programme for Government 2002–05. Entrepreneurship is increasingly integrated into courses in our universities and further education institutions with the aim of contributing to an enterprise culture in Northern Ireland.

Modern Apprenticeships

8. asked the Minister for Employment and Learning what plans she has to increase the number of modern apprenticeship places by 2004.
(AQO204/02)


Modern apprenticeships are demand-led, work-based learning. They rely on interest from young people and the willingness of employers to employ and train them from day one. My Department is actively publicising the benefits of modern apprenticeships and raising awareness of them generally among young people, employers and employer representative bodies. I intend to set a target for 2003-04 of increasing participation in apprenticeships by 10%. The funding is there, and we want to work closely with employers. However, we are dependent on their co-operation.


The Minister said that modern apprenticeships are "demand-led". Will she be examining carefully why the money that has been allocated has not been drawn down? Is she aware of, and will she be taking into account, the target in Great Britain to raise the number of young people entering modern apprenticeships before the age of 22 to 28% by 2004? Does she accept that, like higher education, technical and craft skills are vital to our economy? Will she be giving increased measure to the development of modern apprenticeships in Northern Ireland?


I agree with everything the Member has said. We do all we can, and we will work with people to encourage the take-up of modern apprenticeships. The funding is available, but we are dependent on employers’ cooperation to some extent. Working with employers is vital.


I welcome the Minister’s response. How successful is the modern apprenticeship programme in Northern Ireland in attracting young people and employers?


As I have already said, I would like it to be more successful. It is excellent. However, we rely on young people’s interest, employers’ willingness and probably also on good careers advice so that young people are aware of the opportunities available.
We work as closely as we can with young people and their parents, schools, further education colleges and employers.


I am pleased that the Minister intends to increase the number of modern apprenticeships. However, can she say how she plans to encourage more employers to engage in the scheme? In the Foyle constituency, which has the highest rate of youth unemployment, there has been a marked decline in the number of modern apprenticeships, especially electrical training apprenticeships. There were just 14 in 2001 and about 30 the previous year.


We have commissioned a review of the effectiveness of the arrangements for modern apprenticeships in Northern Ireland that will examine the respective performances and roles of the sector training councils, the training organisations and the employers’ organisations in the delivery of the programme. That review should be completed in December 2002.
My Department is doing all it can to promote modern apprenticeships; they are excellent, and funding is available. However, it is vitally important to have the employers on board.

The Beeches, Aghalee

9. asked the Minister for Employment and Learning when she intends to visit the vocational learning unit at The Beeches, Aghalee.
(AQO227/02)


I intend to visit the Beeches vocational learning unit at Aghalee on Wednesday 16 October 2002, and I look forward to that visit.


I thank the Minister for confirming her visit. I had written to her earlier in the year, and she said that she intended to come in the autumn. However, she needs to bring more than herself; she needs to bring some assurances about the European funding that was withdrawn. The Down Lisburn Trust is sustaining the unit, but that cannot continue indefinitely. Her Department has a role to play in providing funding for the unit.


Regrettably, I do not have the resources to continue to support projects that were not successful in their applications for EU funding. However, the Executive have agreed that £6 million will be made available from the Executive programme funds to ensure that critical services provided by projects are not lost. I have had a meeting with the Minister of Education and the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety, and officials from my Department are involved in a cross-departmental working group with officials from the Department of Education and the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety. We are actively looking at transition from special schools to further and higher education.

Switch from ACE to Worktrack

10. asked the Minister for Employment and Learning how much funding was allocated in the switch from ACE to Worktrack; and to make a statement on any improvement in efficiency.
(AQO224/02)


ACE was closed and Worktrack introduced in the 1999-2000 financial year. In that year just over £11 million was expended on ACE and £1·6 million on Worktrack. Worktrack’s allocation in the present financial year is £9·4 million. At the end of Worktrack’s first full year of operation, its performance, with regard to participants taking up sustained employment, was about the same as that of ACE. However, as Worktrack is a six-month programme, while ACE lasted a year or more, there is a considerable gain in efficiency, and I am looking at ways of raising the performance levels.


Does the Minister agree that the work done by ACE is not being reflected in Worktrack? Indeed, there may be confusion about the transition from ACE to Worktrack. The systems that people were accustomed to in ACE do not seem to be reflected in Worktrack.


Unemployment in Northern Ireland fell from the start of the 1990s, and by the end of 1997 it was below the average level for the European Union. The greater number of people finding jobs and the continuing fall in unemployment, combined with the introduction of New Deal, made it necessary to re-examine the ACE programme.
ACE was introduced during a period of relatively high unemployment. The programme provided temporary employment opportunities for the long-term unemployed in projects of community benefit for up to 12 months, and could be extended to 18 months in the case of disabled persons. However, since New Deal is now the Government’s main instrument to help the unemployed to get back to work, Worktrack complements that approach by providing temporary employment opportunities of up to 26 weeks in advance of New Deal thresholds.


I appreciate the Minister’s comments about the switch from ACE to Worktrack, and about the improvements in efficiency. Will the Minister assure us that areas such as west Belfast, where many hundreds of young people are unemployed, will benefit from that improvement?


Earlier this year, independent consultants evaluated the Worktrack programme and found that there was a continuing need for it. Several recommendations on improving its effectiveness were made, including the increased use of private and public sector organisations to provide a wider range of job placements. My Department is considering those recommendations. From information gathered by the task force on employability and long-term unemployment, we learned that examining the barriers to employment would help us to tailor our programmes more successfully.


Questions 15 and 17, in the names of Mr Mick Murphy and Ms Sue Ramsey respectively, have been withdrawn.

Literacy in the Agriculture Industry

11. asked the Minister for Employment and Learning what steps she has taken in partnership with the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development to address the low levels of literacy among those in the agriculture industry.
(AQO210/02)


I have briefed the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development and other ministerial Colleagues on the development of the essential skills strategy. My departmental officials are working closely with the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development to ensure that the essential skills provision is integrated into their training and development programmes.


The Minister’s answer does not go far enough. What steps is she taking to provide training for the many people who have had to leave the agriculture industry in recent years because of low income, and who have little or no qualifications, other than knowledge of the trade of farming the land, grazing livestock, and crops, which has resulted in the success of highly profitable supermarkets?


The consultation on the essential skills strategy consisted of 18 seminars, and 195 responses were received. We consulted widely, in urban and rural areas, and all the key stakeholders were represented. The international adult literacy survey, which highlighted the fact that 24% of our adult population have literacy problems, showed that workers such as machine operators, and those in repetitious jobs, were often performing with low literacy. As part of the essential skills strategy, we shall establish a steering group to explore all those barriers and to discover how the most disadvantaged and excluded adults can be reached. I shall be chairing that group, and I assure the Member that I intend to progress the strategy.


I agree with Mr Armstrong that low literacy is prevalent among those in the agriculture industry. Some young farmers are unable to obtain driving licences because of their inability to complete the written part of the driving test. However, the solution to that is not within the remit of the Minister for Employment and Learning. What assurances can the Minister give that the needs of the agriculture industry will be fully met?


As I said in my response to Mr Armstrong, the Department for Employment and Learning consulted people in the rural and urban areas on the essential skills needs of those involved in the agriculture industry. The Department was looking for the main barriers to literacy. I will do all in my power to ensure that the Department, through the essential skills action plan, targets those who need help. That is a huge challenge, but I am determined that the Department will meet it. We have set ourselves high numbers. A new curriculum has been introduced, and the Department wants to ensure that the tutors are well trained and that the teaching is esteemed. I want to ensure that the Department for Employment and Learning will meet its own challenge.


We should be moving to question 16, but Mr Alex Attwood is not in his place. I call Mr Gerry McHugh.

Achievement of NVQs

18. asked the Minister for Employment and Learning to detail the achievement rate for NVQs in each of the last 3 years.
(AQO222/02)


The NVQ achievement rate in the Jobskills programme is measured on a cohort basis, namely young people who enter Jobskills between 1 April each year and the following 31 March. The NVQ achievement rates for 1998-99 were 41% at level one and 49% at level two; for 1999-2000 they were 46% at level one and 51% at level two; and for 2000-01 it was 21% at level one. There is only one figure for 2000-01 because the Department looked at the key skills together.


I thank the Minister for her answer. Those achievement levels could be improved. Does the Minister have any innovative ideas to improve the grades? Levels one and two were mentioned, but many jobs in the higher sector of industry require level three. What is the possibility of increasing rates of achievement at level three?


I do not think that that is a problem. The problem is that those at key skills levels one and two are sometimes having difficulties caused by the requirement since 1999 for trainees to attain both an NVQ and the specified key skills. Although there has been an improvement in the key skill achievement rates, it is recognised that the recent introduction of the external test in key skills has exacerbated the problem for some young people. I have asked departmental officials to consider how the difficulties presented by key skills might best be addressed and to submit proposals for dealing with young people who are not ready to undertake a full framework.
We are doing better than Great Britain, but the NVQ rate has been somewhat depressed. Some school leavers are already demotivated and are not comfortable to be back in the classroom. The Department for Employment and Learning wants to get the balance between the essential key skills — which are set by employers — and the NVQ level.

Task Force on Employability and Long-Term Unemployment

19. asked the Minister for Employment and Learning to give an update on the progress of the task force on employability and long-term unemployment.
(AQO201/02)


The draft report is with the Committee for Employment and Learning for consideration before submission to the Executive for approval and subsequent publication. I am looking forward to feedback from the Committee and to taking the draft report to my Executive Colleagues and on to publication.


How will the Minister ensure that the work of the task force continues once its action plan has been produced?


The report signals the beginning of an interdepartmental approach to addressing those vital issues, and the task force recognises that more needs to be done. It is committed to ensuring that the recommendations contained in the action plan are taken forward.
Additionally, as Minister, I will lead the implementation of the employability task force action plan. I will seek support for the action plan from the Northern Ireland Executive, the Assembly, the employer representative bodies, the trade union movement, education and training providers, and, not least, the community and voluntary sector. An interdepartmental implementation group, which will report to me, will ensure that those parties take responsibility for delivering on their commitments in the action plan. Progress towards action plan targets will be further monitored through the publication of New TSN action plans. Those will reflect individual Departments’ commitments to the employability task force action plan. The implementation group will also put in place a local consultative process in each targeted area.


Time is up.

Social Development

I wish to inform Members that questions 4 and 8, standing in the names of Mrs Carson and Ms Ramsey, have been withdrawn and will receive a written answer. Questions 5 and 12, standing in the names of Mr Malloy, Mr Fee and Mr Hilditch, have been withdrawn and will not require a written answer.

Dromore: Urban Regeneration

1. asked the Minister for Social Development what assistance he can give to the urban regeneration of Dromore.
(AQO220/02)


My Department has prepared a strategy for town centre reinvigoration, which forms part of our new strategy for neighbourhood renewal in Northern Ireland. The town centre element has been drawn up after widespread consultation, including comments from district councils and other Government Departments. It will highlight a range of policies and incentives, which together will create the best climate within which regeneration of town centres can be accomplished. The Department for Social Development will offer advice on best practice for reinvigorating town centres and will continue to use existing policy instruments, such as environmental improvement and comprehensive development schemes, as appropriate.
Finally, and importantly, our policy will highlight the need for a unified approach by Government to ensure that all our policies complement each other with regard to promoting town centre reinvigoration. With that aim in mind, this morning I met Mr Nesbitt, the Minister of the Environment, to discuss how we could act jointly to promote regeneration in Dromore.
The Department for Social Development, which takes the lead on regeneration matters, will provide advice and general assistance to Banbridge District Council and to the local established groups in Dromore. The Department will also continue to work with the International Fund for Ireland, as agent for the urban development programme, and with the heritage lottery fund, which has appointed a project officer to run the townscape scheme in Dromore. Those practical measures will go a long way towards ensuring that Dromore is given the best opportunity to develop a town centre of which it can be truly proud.


Does the Minister’s Department recognise the scale of dereliction in Dromore? Will the Minister visit the town to see the dereliction? Can his Department provide financial assistance to the Dromore area, in conjunction with the International Fund for Ireland and the heritage lottery fund, to ensure that the schemes that are being processed by the Dromore regeneration group come to fruition?


I am happy to visit Dromore in my official capacity as Minister. My officials are well aware of the extent of the problems there and of the need to work with the local community, the local council and other interested groups to regenerate the town centre.
It is essential to have a proper plan from which to work. It will be difficult to commit a figure for funding until such a plan is in place. However, when it is formulated, potential sources of funding will be approached, and I shall decide what funding can be made available from the Department’s budget.
As a result of this morning’s meeting, I expect that a senior official will meet a representative of the local council. It is essential that the Department speak to the various interest groups in Dromore to develop a co-ordinated approach, so that the opportunities that will exist when the new town centre reinvigoration policy is published can be grasped.


Will the Minister update the House on the measure for town centre regeneration under Peace II?


Further to my Department undertaking a review of town centre regeneration and reinvigoration policy as part of the neighbourhood renewal strategy, it has also been examining the possibilities of funding town centre regeneration under Peace II. That measure has specific qualification criteria, and the majority of local councils across Northern Ireland have bid for assistance. As only £1·75 million is available, I anticipate that approximately only one third of the applicants will be successful. I hope to be able to announce the successful bids soon.

Deprived Communities

2. asked the Minister for Social Development what action he has taken, in the past 3 months, to assist socially deprived communities, address the legacy of conflict and encourage reconciliation.
(AQO184/02)


I have recently announced several programmes and measures that are aimed specifically at assisting the most socially deprived communities in Northern Ireland. For example, in July, my Department announced a £12 million European Union Peace II funding package, which will benefit 12 communities in Northern Ireland that suffer high levels of multiple deprivation and the worst effects of recent troubles.
That funding is in addition to the £11 million URBAN II funding package for inner north Belfast that was announced earlier this year. Moreover, under the auspices of the North Belfast Community Action Project, my Department has been contributing to developing a plan of short-, medium- and long-term actions to address social and community issues there, particularly actions that are aimed at building and strengthening community capacity. Specific housing strategies are being developed to provide decent homes for those living in the worst areas of conflict. Furthermore, £1·5 million was allocated recently to projects in the most deprived areas of Londonderry, two of which aim to address the legacy of conflict and encourage reconciliation.


Thank you, a LeasCheann Comhairle. Will the Minister meet representatives of the voluntary and community sector in Omagh, the county town of Tyrone? Will he listen to the experiences of groups, such as Focus (Forum in Omagh Community Understanding and Support) and Omagh Community Support Forum — amalgams of town-based and rural community groups — and the Omagh Women’s Area Network, about funding difficulties and discuss measures aimed at building their capacity?


I am aware of the contribution that the voluntary and community sector makes in delivering vital services to some of the most socially and economically deprived communities in Northern Ireland.
I recently met representatives of the Community Foundation for Northern Ireland — formerly the Northern Ireland Voluntary Trust — and I have met the Northern Ireland Council for Voluntary Action and other community organisations that provide advice and assistance throughout Northern Ireland. I am always happy to talk to representatives of the community sector.
One of the messages that people from Omagh would undoubtedly bring to a meeting would be similar to the message that such groups could bring from other parts of the Province — namely, that the community and voluntary sector is currently under some pressure. However, we are working as hard as possible to try to alleviate that through long-term strategies and also by making a bid for Executive programme funds to secure extra funding for the sector. We will continue to work on that, and I shall be very happy to meet community and voluntary sector representatives from Omagh or elsewhere.


Does the Minister agree that the most efficient weapon to deal with conflict is the existence of democratic institutions? Does he agree that those who wish to pull them down are the best friends of paramilitaries who want anything but reconciliation?


Mr Deputy Speaker, the Member’s question goes somewhat beyond the subject before us. However, with your permission, I will nevertheless be very happy to answer it. Before I come to the more political aspects, I would like to put on record in the Assembly that, in the coming months, as well as the measures which I outlined previously, I expect to publish a new urban regeneration strategy for Northern Ireland generally, which will provide a new framework for targeting resources at neighbourhoods suffering high levels of deprivation and social exclusion. I expect to announce shortly the Peace II funding package that I referred to earlier. We have also secured funding for a new community outreach programme. Those are practical measures which demonstrate our commitment to helping those who are most socially deprived in Northern Ireland.
As for the Member’s rather silly comments, he would be better spending his time concentrating on those sorts of issues and trying to develop truly democratic institutions in Northern Ireland. If he believes for one minute that what is unacceptable in the Irish Republic — where the Government and the leading parties have said that they are not prepared to have representatives of an armed terrorist group in government — should be forced on us here, he should talk to some more of his friends down South and see what the difference is.


The Minister has confirmed the contribution of voluntary and community groups in socially deprived communities, not only in west Tyrone but all over the Province. What moneys are available for such voluntary and community groups to assist the point of view which the Minister has put forward?


My Department utilises various funding programmes to support the regional and local community infrastructure in Northern Ireland. There is support for regional voluntary and community bodies such as the Northern Ireland Council for Voluntary Action, the Northern Ireland Association of Citizens Advice Bureaux and the Association of Independent Advice Centres.
There is also, of course, the district councils’ community support programme, of which, as a local councillor, the Member will be aware. That in turn funds local voluntary and community groups, advice centres and resource centres. We have increased funding to that programme to allow local councils to make the decisions on where the resources should go. I believe in local democracy, and that is what local democracy really means — letting people have the decision on where such funding should go.
We also have programmes in place to support active citizenship and volunteering. The active community initiative was launched by the Prime Minister in January 1999, and its aim is to help rebuild a sense of community throughout the United Kingdom by encouraging and supporting all forms of community involvement. We also have EU measures under the programme for building sustainable prosperity. In addition, my Department has secured funding of £3 million for a new outreach programme which has been developed in conjunction with other Departments; eligible activities will include one-stop shops for advice on such issues as funding, exchanges and secondments. Priority will be given to those areas of highest social and economic need.

Warm Homes Scheme

6. asked the Minister for Social Development to give an update on the uptake of the warm homes scheme.
(AQO211/02)


The warm homes scheme is demand-led. Since it began in July 2001, more than 12,000 referrals from eligible applicants across Northern Ireland have been processed, and more than 8,300 clients have received energy efficiency or heating measures. To date, spending on the warm homes scheme exceeds £9·6 million, and we are on course to assist 6,250 households this year.


Does the Minister agree that more than 170,000 households are classed as living with fuel poverty, and that the warm homes scheme, although a positive initiative, will not go far enough to eradicate fuel poverty?


I agree that the warm homes scheme, on its own, will not eradicate fuel poverty. However, it is a major leap forward from where we were two or three years ago, and I am sure the Member will agree with that.
Since it began operation on 2 July 2001, over 6,500 insulations have been fitted, over 1,700 heating systems have been installed, and £9·5 million has been spent. The allocation of funds for this year is £7·98 million, and that will be supported by a contribution from the NIE customer levy. Therefore, much is being done on that front, which is very welcome. The Member will know, as I do from dealing with constituents, the valuable and important improvement it makes to people’s lives.
The recent study in Beechmount, which was one of the pilot areas selected by my Department, the Housing Executive and others, showed that people are saving an average of £10 a week as a result of those measures. If we were to eradicate fuel poverty in Northern Ireland, it would save the Health Service £30 million a year — and that is year on year. We talk about dealing with the crux of the problems; that shows the importance of putting money into that scheme, as it will solve a range of problems.
We are also funding an extensive programme of heating upgrades by the Housing Executive and registered housing associations. Through the social security system, a winter fuel payment of £200 a year is made available to pensioners, and a cold weather payment is also available in severe conditions. Housing unfitness, which is a major contributory factor, is being tackled through a regime of grants. We are dealing with that in the Housing Bill by introducing a more flexible regime and targeting the areas most in need, particularly rural areas where there is much unfit housing in the private sector.
I agree that fuel poverty is a multifaceted problem. It requires a cross-departmental approach, and that is why I intend to issue a fuel poverty strategy for consultation by the end of the year.


The Minister has pre-empted my question. During the Committee for Social Development’s energy inquiry, we discussed fuel poverty, and I understand that the Minister’s Department is setting up a fuel poverty task force. I wanted to ask when that would begin, and when the result is likely to come out.


I know of the Member’s interest in that area. As I have said, we intend to issue the fuel poverty strategy for consultation by the end of the year. I mentioned the benefits of dealing with the issue comprehensively, and the tremendous benefits that accrue for householders lifted out of fuel poverty and for the general budget, due to the knock-on effects in health, education and other areas. I intend to move on that as speedily as possible.
I will ensure that there is proper consultation with everyone who is interested, not least the Members and Committees, who have a relevant input in the Assembly. I will continue to press the Eaga Partnership in delivering that on the ground, although they have done an impressive job. We will continue to closely monitor where the uptake is coming from. As it is demand-led, there is a need to ensure that those areas that may not be making full use of the scheme make as much use of it as they can. That must be done through publicity and highlighting the benefits of the scheme. Given the benefits that I have outlined, it is important that we continue to make progress, and the strategy to which the Member referred is an important aspect of that.


Does the Department have any further plans to enhance public awareness of the warm homes scheme? The scheme has been greatly appreciated across the Province. However, not everyone is aware of it.


The demand-led nature of the scheme means that there will be variations in uptake from one area to the next. As I have said, the Eaga Partnership has developed an effective promotional campaign, which involves general local media advertising and the use of mailshots in co-operation with the Housing Executive and the Rate Collection Agency.
It also involves the employment of a network liaison manager to develop referral mechanisms, which includes the constituency offices of Assembly Members. I am aware that Members from all sides come across the problem when dealing with constituents on a daily basis. It is important that they have a point of reference through which to channel enquiries and get them dealt with as quickly as possible.
Those mechanisms are in place. However, Eaga and the Department continue to monitor the situation closely so that marketing activities are targeted at areas where people are in need. By and large, the uptake across the Province is good. Some areas could certainly benefit from greater uptake; others are above average. However, every part of the Province is benefiting.

Housing Associations

7. asked the Minister for Social Development to detail, for each of the last 4 years, the grant aid awarded to housing associations for the provision of social housing.
(AQO218/02)


Housing association grants paid to registered housing associations for the provision of new-build social housing over the past four years were £55·9 million in 1998-99; £58·2 million in 1999-2000; £54·8 million in 2000-01 and £54·8 million in 2001-02.
In addition, housing associations attracted private finance of £25·1 million in 1998-99; £35·5 million in 1999-2000; £30 million in 2000-01, and £30 million in 2001-02 into the programme. Had that private finance — around £121 million — not been available, then the equivalent of around 1,800 new houses would not have been provided at no cost to the public purse.


Notwithstanding the pivotal role that housing associations play in providing social housing, does the Minister agree that the massive increase of around 58% in the building costs of housing associations needs to be examined? Is there a connection between that and the amount of private finance initiative money that they are getting?


The general cost of public housing has been measured against the comparative rise in England. Figures were taken from a needs and effectiveness evaluation that was leaked and misinterpreted by members of the press and some Members of the House. There has, indeed, been misplaced and misguided comment on those figures.
Comparisons with the cost of providing new social housing in England are misleading for several reasons. Land costs, especially around Belfast, have risen sharply in recent years. Northern Ireland’s social housing is built to higher standards and lower density.
Of course, my Department is always acutely aware of the need to deliver value for money. It has commissioned detailed research into several issues that have arisen from the evaluation — including the reason why house prices have risen so dramatically — so as to ensure that it gets the best possible value for investment in the housing programmes, as it has done in the past. The review of needs and effectiveness on housing concluded that public spending on housing in Northern Ireland has generally been effective in meeting its objectives and has delivered acceptable value for money. The suggestion that the housing budget is somehow overfunded is completely spurious. I am glad that many people in the Province share that view.


The Minister and his Department have spent substantial sums of money on social housing. However, in areas such as Greater West Belfast, hundreds of people have been waiting for meaningful consideration of housing, many since March 2000. Has the Minister any plans to increase funding for housing in west Belfast?


I can only operate within the budget available to me. Dr Hendron and other Members will have a critical role in that when voting on the Budget in the coming months. I have made pleas before, in the House, outside the House and elsewhere, for increased funding for housing.
With more funding, more houses can be built, not only in west Belfast, but in other areas of housing need. That is why I was so alarmed — indeed, annoyed — at the misreporting and nonsense in the papers recently about the needs and effectiveness evaluation. It made no sense at all. It is simply nonsense to suggest that we are somehow overspending because more has been spent in Northern Ireland than in England on maintenance and housing, especially when billions of pounds are now being invested in England to catch up on the investment that we have made over the years — a tacit admission that we got it right all along.
We must accept that, just as I said in answer to Mr Armstrong that warm homes can have effects on the health budget and educational standards, decent, fit and quality housing can have a wide range of knock-on effects for people’s educational status, health, environmental improvement and so on. It is essential that extra resources be put into housing generally — in west Belfast and other areas of the Province. I will commit myself to doing everything that I possibly can to do that, and I look for the support of Members on that issue.


Has the Minister any evidence, anecdotal or otherwise, to suggest that one reason why building costs are so high in Northern Ireland is the awful extortion, by members of the Provisional IRA and other paramilitaries, from companies that are trying to provide the social housing that he mentioned?


Rising land costs are an issue, especially around Belfast. In other areas of the Province, the scarcity of land at the right price has a knock-on effect on the ability of housing associations to acquire land for new social housing. We compete for that land with the private sector and others. Anything that contributes to higher costs is an additional problem, be it extortion demands by paramilitary groups or whatever.
Our ability to deal with homelessness, longer waiting lists, severe housing need and severe social and economic deprivation is hampered, hindered and set back when, for instance, funding that should be used to tackle those issues must be diverted into buying homes under the special purchase of evacuated dwellings scheme to transfer people threatened out of their homes by paramilitary groups. We are now looking at an underspend of well over £15 million in this year’s budget as a direct result of the Castlereagh break-in, and we know where the responsibility for that lies.

Benefits Payment Arrangements

9. asked the Minister for Social Development what steps are being taken to ensure that claimants who do not wish to open a bank/building society account in order to receive pension and benefit payments, will, after April 2003, retain the option of receiving such payments directly from a Post Office.
(AQO182/02)


Payment by credit transfer is being introduced to modernise the way benefits are paid, to reduce social and financial exclusion by giving access to basic bank accounts, and to reduce the fraud and abuse associated with the current paper methods of payment.
Negotiations are proceeding between the banks and the Post Office to ensure that people who open basic bank accounts will be able to access those through the Post Office. Thus it is my clear policy that people in Northern Ireland will be able to continue to collect their benefits at post offices.
(Madam Deputy Speaker [Ms Morrice] in the Chair)


Will the Minister give an assurance that any switchover will not be compulsory?


I assure the Member that people can collect their benefits in cash from the Post Office if they so wish. The purpose of the reforms is to tackle social and financial exclusion and to reduce fraud and abuse. Clearly, provision must be made for those who cannot or do not wish to avail of that system. There is no question of people being forced to use it, and people will still be able to receive their money weekly. They will not have to make different financial arrangements for their own accounting purposes.


Has the Minister had discussions with Consignia, or has he plans to meet the company regarding the retention of services in rural areas to ensure that residents in those areas continue to have a service equal to that available to urban residents?


Time is up.
Motion made:
That the Assembly do now adjourn.— [Madam Deputy Speaker.]

Enterprise, Trade and Investment

Mr Jim Wilson: I wish to inform Members that questions 2, 7 and 9, standing in the names of Mr John Fee, Mrs Joan Carson and Mr David Hilditch respectively, have been withdrawn and will not receive written answers. Question 13, standing in the name of Ms Michelle Gildernew, has also been withdrawn but will require a written answer.

Lough Neagh Tourism

Mr Billy Armstrong: 1. asked the Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment to give an update on his policy to develop and promote Lough Neagh as a major tourist attraction.
(AQO212/02)

Sir Reg Empey: It is fully recognised that the Lough Neagh wetlands, as an activity destination, are a greatly underutilised resource. The Lough Neagh management strategy, launched in June 2002, provides the necessary framework for the wise use of the resource, including its development for tourism. The Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment, through the Northern Ireland Tourist Board, is committed to working with relevant partners to ensure its implementation.

Mr Billy Armstrong: Does the Minister agree that Lough Neagh has the potential to be a major tourist attraction, contrary to what is suggested by the low number of visitors there this summer? Can he ensure that when the area is developed, its environmental assets will be conserved?

Sir Reg Empey: With regard to the Member’s last point, the conservation of the area must, of course, be a guiding principle in how it is developed, because no one wants to see the area ruined. I was in the area on Saturday evening at the opening of an equestrian centre. Given the reports that the Department has received, and the potential that clearly exists, the area is undoubtedly underutilised. Water sports-related activities, wildlife-related activities and equestrian activities have the potential to promote the lough as a significant destination.
At present, few people visit the area. Those visitors tend to come on day trips. The predominant use of the area is for informal recreation, as one would expect. The area has tremendous potential. Six local authority areas border the lough, and I believe that through working with them, and with the Lough Neagh Partnership, which is a new company limited by guarantee, the Department will be able to develop and implement projects, attract investment and market the area in a strategic manner. Although it is not envisaged that the Lough Neagh Partnership will carry out the statutory obligations of any agency, it will be well placed to manage strategic projects.

Mr Gardiner Kane: Members know that Lough Neagh has valuable tourist attractions. Can the Minister outline the Department’s policy for the development and promotion of established tourist attractions, such as the Giant’s Causeway and the Glens of Antrim?

Sir Reg Empey: I have no doubt that the Member is well skilled. If he sits in the Chamber until the end of Question Time, he may find that there is a question coming up on that particular subject. With your permission, Mr Deputy Speaker, I will decline to fall into that trap at this stage.

NITB’s New York Bills

Mr Seamus Close: 3. asked the Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment, pursuant to AQW 389/01, how many of the New York hospitality bills listed were paid with the credit card issued to NITB’s New York manager.
(AQO190/02)

Sir Reg Empey: None of the bills referred to were paid with the credit card that was issued to the Northern Ireland Tourist Board’s New York manager.

Mr Seamus Close: I am delighted to hear that. However, can the Minister advise the House as to how he is so certain that that is the case? As I understand it, thousands of pounds worth of unaccounted bills are still outstanding, for which no receipts have been issued?

Sir Reg Empey: The bills were paid either through the Northern Ireland Tourist Board’s cheque journal, in accordance with normal supplier payment arrangements, or through expense claim forms, which were then processed in accordance with normal procedure. The payments have either been repaid centrally by the Tourist Board or subsequently claimed and repaid through the normal process. That is how I am able to give the Member that particular answer.

Mr John Dallat: The Minister will agree that chairmen of public bodies and those charged, as accounting officers, with safeguarding the use of public money have a particular duty of care in incurring substantial expenditure on hospitality, such as that which occurred in New York. He will further agree that it is essential that such expenditure is fully in line with best practice guidance and that it can be fully defended as regards value for money.

Mr Danny Kennedy: Get to the question.

Mr Jim Wilson: Order.

Mr Danny Kennedy: Question.

Mr Jim Wilson: I do not need to be prompted. Are you coming to a question, Mr Dallat?

Mr John Dallat: Yes, indeed. I find it rather interesting that such anxiety is expressed from across the Floor about this question.

Mr Danny Kennedy: Get on with what you were going to say, ye bigot ye.

Mr John Dallat: Withdraw that.

Mr Jim Wilson: This really is unfortunate.

Mr John Dallat: Yes.

Mr Jim Wilson: Mr Dallat, I was right to call you to order.
I ask Mr Kennedy whether he cares to withdraw that remark.

Mr Danny Kennedy: Mr Deputy Speaker, the remark is withdrawn.

Mr Jim Wilson: Thank you.

Mr John Dallat: Is the Minister satisfied that the chairman and accounting officer met expectations during the visits and events detailed in his answer to question AQW 389/01? What criteria were used to assess that?

Sir Reg Empey: I am not absolutely sure that I quite understand what the Member is getting at. He said that accounting officers and chairmen have a duty of care for public expenditure. I entirely agree. The purpose and rationale for having an accounting officer is that there is a person designated as being responsible for the dispersal of public funds. I entirely accept that, and it is absolutely appropriate that such a person is clearly identified.
The Member also mentioned substantial expenditure on hospitality. That must be put into perspective. Going back to 1997, there were amounts of $123·13 and $27·54, up to larger amounts such as $3,689·24. However, we are talking about the promotion of Northern Ireland in New York, which is a very expensive city. Even at its peak, average expenditure was $500 a week. At that time, Northern Ireland was a very difficult place to promote. People forget just how far we have come since then.
People must have some sense of proportion. Whether it is $27 or $3,000, accountability must remain quite clear. In the first part of my answer, I said that the accounting officer must be answerable for, in this case, every cent that is spent from the public purse. However, we must also remember the purpose of spending that money. We are up against heavy expenditure from other places. I am not altogether sure if amounts of that scale would be subject to questions in the Irish Parliament — maybe they are. However, it is important to keep everything in proportion.
The chairman and the accounting officer must ensure that the Department’s policy on expenditure of public moneys is adhered to, and, if it is not, that those involved are answerable to the Department. I am absolutely clear about that. However, as I said to Mr Close, I have been informed that in this case there was clear accountability and that the credit card in question was not used. There was a "shock, horror" reaction to the use of credit cards. Many car drivers use credit cards to pay for petrol; they are a perfectly legitimate means of dealing with public expenditure provided the procedures are in place to ensure accountability. We should not get ourselves into a twist about the use of credit cards or charge cards, because they are a good way to settle bills without using cash. The core issue is to ensure that the people who use them are accountable and answerable.

Mr David McClarty: Am I correct to say that any manager who uses credit cards must submit receipts for any expenses claimed? Does the Minister agree that the number of questions that are being asked about the use of credit cards has reached epidemic proportions? Some of the questions are extremely petty. How much does it cost the Department, and thus the people of Northern Ireland, to answer those questions?

Sir Reg Empey: Other Ministers and I have a clear obligation to answer, to the best of our ability, any question asked by a Member, irrespective of the number of questions asked. However, perhaps Members do not always appreciate fully how much time is devoted to answering questions. I do not know the exact cost of answering questions on the use of credit cards, but I would be happy to try to find out.
I am more concerned by the fact that certain sections of my Department have to deal with many Assembly questions, which means that at peak times a client executive can spend up to 50% of his or her time answering them. That is a huge problem for the Department because it means that the officer is unable to work on other matters — [Interruption].

Mr Jim Wilson: Order.

Sir Reg Empey: Irrespective of the question asked, I will continue to endeavour to give as full and frank an answer as possible. However, there comes a point when cost-effectiveness has to be taken into account.

Stress at Work

Mr John Kelly: 4. asked the Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment to make a statement in response to the launch of the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work’s campaign to raise awareness of the causes of stress at work.
(AQO213/02)

Sir Reg Empey: My Department, through the work of the Health and Safety Executive for Northern Ireland, recognises that the campaign provides an excellent opportunity to raise awareness of work-related stress. I am sure that many Members would agree with that. The European Week for Safety and Health at Work, which will run from 14 October to 20 October 2002, is the cornerstone of the campaign. Locally, the Health and Safety Executive for Northern Ireland is pursuing a comprehensive promotional programme.

Mr John Kelly: Does the Minister agree that greater co-operation with the Department for Employment and Learning is needed to help to raise awareness of stress in the workplace and to help people to find a balance? In other words, perhaps an educational approach should be adopted.

Sir Reg Empey: The Health and Safety Executive is committed to addressing the issue of work-related stress. The Member may find the following statistics interesting. It is estimated that at any time in Northern Ireland some 12,500 people experience work-related stress, anxiety or depression. In June, the Health and Safety Executive launched the European Week for Safety and Health at Work at Maydown. It used that opportunity to encourage all organisations in Northern Ireland to address the issue of work-related stress. As part of a wide-ranging advertising campaign, over 13,000 information packs have been distributed to organisations in the Province.
The information packs describe the causes of work-related stress and provide information on how it can be prevented. Furthermore, specific information from the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work has been included. A European week awards scheme is being co-ordinated, which aims to recognise organisations that excel in their efforts to support the working on stress initiative. Local winners will be recognised during a European week awards ceremony to be held early in 2003.

Mrs Annie Courtney: I welcome the emphasis on stress-related illnesses and the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work. People often suffer disadvantages resulting from the appearance of such illness on a medical certificate. Will the Minister ensure that employees are not put under further stress by having that information on their employment record?

Sir Reg Empey: In my answer to Mr Kelly I omitted to mention the relationship between my Department and the Department for Employment and Learning. We have regular discussions, and training forms a key part of the activities.
Mrs Courtney made a very good point. Undoubtedly, there is a degree of prejudice about certain illnesses. It would be interesting to see how these matters are treated, particularly in the Civil Service. I cannot confirm anything for the Member at the moment; however, I shall make enquiries about the matter and I shall write to the Member, rather than give her an off-the-cuff response.

Mr Jim Shannon: I thank the Minister for his response in relation to the launch of the European campaign. However, he omitted one point, which is the issue of those who are bullied at work. It is a big issue for many people who are off as a result. Will any help be available in the campaign he outlined for those who are subject to that type of abuse?

Sir Reg Empey: There are several issues here. First, we must define "stress" and how it is categorised. For instance, the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development carried out a social survey of farmers and farm families in 2001-02 to investigate the scale of work-related ill health in the farming community. The study found that 15% of the 3,400 people interviewed suffered from work-related ill health, with 5% of those interviewed reporting that stress, depression or anxiety was caused — or aggravated — by their work.
Furthermore, the situation varies between industries. Some people are continuously "off", as Mr Shannon put it, and it must be determined whether they are fit to return to work. People can be permanently disabled by stress-related illnesses. It is very difficult to be clear about stress-related illness. If someone has a broken leg, that is obvious. It is less obvious if someone is suffering from stress, and it can become progressively more difficult to analyse. The purpose behind the week of health promotion and the activity of the Health and Safety Executive is to raise awareness among employers, as well as workers. Taking Mrs Courtney’s point, people should not be discriminated against because they suffer from that disability rather than from any other.

Lagan Valley Tourism

Mr Edwin Poots: 5. asked the Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment what plans he has to provide greater support for tourism projects in the Lagan Valley constituency.
(AQO228/02)

Sir Reg Empey: The Northern Ireland Tourist Board and Invest Northern Ireland administer several financial assistance schemes aimed at developing visitor attractions and facilities, marketing projects, events support and business support in general. Applications for assistance under those initiatives are welcomed from projects in Lagan Valley. Support policies are continually under review and will be adjusted according to sector needs and tourism policy.

Mr Edwin Poots: Officials from Lisburn City Council recently met the Minister and outlined the funding that the area has received from the Tourist Board in the past few years. I assume that the Minister agrees that that funding is minuscule. When will the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment and the Tourist Board realise that there are areas between Belfast and the north coast, and between Belfast and Fermanagh, that attract tourism spend? When will the Department support events in those areas?

Sir Reg Empey: The Tourist Board is very conscious that events happen throughout the Province. In fact, it provides East Belfast with less funding than any other constituency. In the past 10 years, £2·85 million has been offered to 19 projects in Lagan Valley. The constituency is not ignored.
Applications are vital. The Tourist Board and the Department can only give assistance for which they are asked, and the objective of my meeting with Lisburn City Council was to attract a hotel project to Lisburn. The then mayor and some of his officials referred to the Department’s moratorium, which has a radius of 10 miles from central Belfast. They felt that, were a hotel project proposed, the moratorium would be discriminatory because Lisburn would not qualify for grant aid. I made it clear that the 10-mile zone was an administrative decision, not a legal or statutory requirement. I also said that future projects would be considered carefully to determine whether they fulfilled the Department’s overall policy objectives and that they would not be ruled out on the basis of the moratorium.
Last month, officials from Invest Northern Ireland met a potential developer to discuss the establishment of a hotel in Lisburn. Those discussions are ongoing.

Mr Eugene McMenamin: Last week, the Committee for Enterprise, Trade and Investment held the second of its tourism inquiry conferences in the heart of west Tyrone. During a workshop, the Committee was told that the domestic market generates the same amount of tourism revenue as visitors from the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the rest of Europe — some £66 million per annum. I am very much in favour of attracting foreign visitors to our islands —

Mr Jim Wilson: Do you have a question, Mr McMenamin?

Mr Eugene McMenamin: Yes. Does the Minister agree that, if the home market were promoted more rigorously, it could attract even more revenue, especially in areas such as the Sperrins and west Tyrone?

Sir Reg Empey: I made a point when the Member for North Antrim, Mr Kane, asked me a question that did not relate to the question on the Order Paper, and my response to Mr McMenamin falls into the same category. Mr McMenamin’s question does not relate to Mr Poots’s question about Lagan Valley. I have answered Mr McMenamin’s question in the past. I have no doubt that he will ask me it again in the future.

Enterprise Zones

Mr Joe Byrne: 6. asked the Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment to outline his policy on designating enterprise zones that attract grant-aided incentives.
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Sir Reg Empey: The Department has no plans to designate enterprise zones that attract grant-aided incentives. It uses other measures that are based on the new TSN maps, as well as a comprehensive series of policy initiatives that involve Invest Northern Ireland, to stimulate economic activity across Northern Ireland.

Mr Joe Byrne: I pay tribute to the Department’s work in creating more industrial parks in Omagh and Strabane. However, in order to promote the small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) sector, especially in provincial areas, will it seriously consider incentives beyond selective financial assistance? Will the Minister assure Members that, to encourage economic development, the Department and the district council will seriously consider support for Fintona, which does not have an industrial park?

Sir Reg Empey: You know what they say, Mr Deputy Speaker: if west Tyrone does not get you one way, it will get you another.
Past policy has been to focus on industrial land and parks in centres of significant population in each district council area. Therefore, as Mr Byrne said, not every town or village necessarily has such a facility. That would spread resources very thinly over a wide area, rather than concentrate them on a limited number of areas.
We have pushed hard in the past few years to attract investment to west Tyrone, with some success in Omagh and Strabane. The Member will recall the recent investment by Rixell Ltd at Doogary Road near Omagh.
As far as incentives other than selective financial assistance are concerned, we offer industrial derating, which is not given anywhere else in these islands. Other incentives include help with training, professional advice, and advice on broadband services. I am prepared to consider suggestions for other forms of assistance. It is something that must be kept under review and should not be curtailed because of bureaucratic requirements.
If the Member has specific ideas that would help his constituency, the Department will be happy to consider them. The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development and I have other strings to our bow, be they based on European funds or LEADER, to help promote development. The combination of those incentives ought to give us a significant package to offer.

Mr Ken Robinson: I am taken by the Minister’s specific references to aid. Given the loss of over 2,000 jobs in east Antrim, and in the light of the severe ongoing job losses there, will he urgently consider declaring east Antrim a strategic employment location in which innovation and entrepreneurship can be fast-tracked to arrest the serious and ongoing decline in the manufacturing sector there?

Sir Reg Empey: In view of my responses to the Member for North Antrim, who is no longer in the Chamber, and the Member for West Tyrone, I shall not answer the Member’s question specifically, because it does not relate to the question tabled. I understand his point and I shall write to him about the particular matters he referred to, but he has strayed considerably from the original question.

Mr Conor Murphy: Go raibh maith agat, a LeasCheann Comhairle. Has the Minister had any discussions with the Tánaiste and her Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment in the South about any potential benefits that could be gained from cross-border industrial parks on both sides of the border, given the economic decline there? What benefits might be accrued from such an establishment?

Sir Reg Empey: Tax incentives are not a matter for this Administration; they are a reserved matter for London. Therefore, I do not hold discussions with Ms Harney about tax incentives. I am not in a position to deal with them. However, we co-operate in other areas, and we have been working closely together, as have Invest Northern Ireland and IDA Ireland, particularly in the north-west, where an initiative is under way.

Offshore Wind Farm

Mr Gregory Campbell: 8. asked the Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment what assessment he has made regarding the local government consultation by the B9 Company about the proposed offshore wind farm.
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Sir Reg Empey: It is premature to make any assessment, because the private consortium responsible for the current proposals has only recently initiated comprehensive studies and consultations. It has distributed detailed information on a wide range of environmental and other studies, entered into discussions with local government, and made presentations on its proposals at four north-west council meetings and to the North West Region Cross Border Group.

Mr Gregory Campbell: The B9 Energy Group has spoken to several councils about the consultation process. Given the responses it has received, and the concerns that the residents of the north coast have voiced about the outcome of that process, can the Minister confirm that those concerns will be taken on board when the consultation process ends and if there are alternative sites that he will consider?

Mr Jim Wilson: Minister, can you limit your response to about 30 seconds?

Sir Reg Empey: The question of sites is for the Crown Estate to determine — it owns the seabed. The Department’s role is to license the generation of electricity; it does not deal with the site. The site in question is the only suitable one around the shores of Northern Ireland. The consultation must be comprehensive, and the Department will determine whether the site is appropriate and adequate, but it is too early to decide that yet.

Mr Jim Wilson: Minister, you dealt with that subject with perfect timing.

Employment and Learning

Mr Jim Wilson: Questions 1, 12 and 14, standing in the names of Mr A Maginness, Mrs Carson and Ms Gildernew have been withdrawn and will receive a written answer.
Questions 2, 4, 6 and 13, standing in the names of Mr Hilditch, Mr Fee, Mr Hamilton and MrDalton, respectively have also been withdrawn but will not receive a written answer.

Review of Further Education

Mr Seamus Close: 3. asked the Minister for Employment and Learning when she proposes to introduce education maintenance allowances for 16-to-19-year olds.
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Ms Carmel Hanna: Officials are examining the evaluation reports of the pilot schemes, which have been running in England and Scotland. In conjunction with the Minister of Education, I will consider the options which best suit Northern Ireland and bring forward joint proposals to the Executive in due course.

Mr Seamus Close: I am disappointed in the Minister’s reply. Those I represent, most of the 16- to-19-year olds and their parents and I would have appreciated a more definitive answer. If the scheme is to be introduced from September 2004 in England, that will be unfair to our 16- to-19-year olds as they will be disadvantaged. Will the Minister give a more precise date, bearing in mind that the draft Budget which passed through the House last week allocated to her budget a 6·2% increase, which amounts to £40 million or £50 million?

Ms Carmel Hanna: I am open to considering any scheme that will widen access, and I will do my best to ensure that financial constraint is not a barrier to further education. The Member stated that it will be at least September 2004 before the scheme is introduced in England, and if it is suitable, I hope that we will introduce it here.

Mr Joe Byrne: Does the Minister accept that the education maintenance allowances, which allow 16- to-19-year olds to continue at school rather than seek employment, are important for some families? If education maintenance allowances are to be introduced here, can the Minister say when?

Ms Carmel Hanna: If it is decided to introduce education maintenance allowances, and I am open to any suggestions that will widen access and ensure that finance is not a barrier, it would not be before the academic year beginning September 2004. I appreciate that that weekly allowance will be a considerable help to 16-to-19-year olds from low-income families. My Department and I will give careful consideration to the thresholds and eligibility conditions.

Mr Tom Hamilton: Can the Minister confirm that the educational maintenance allowance was a factor in the failed business plan of the West Belfast Springvale campus?
Will the Minister explain how she proposes to deal with the uncertainty that many will experience as a result of her sudden decision to pull the plug on this major initiative?

Ms Carmel Hanna: I am very disappointed by this setback; I am totally committed to the Springvale project. However, the two main promoters of the project — the University of Ulster and the Belfast Institute of Further and Higher Education — have concerns about its financial viability and sustainability. It would be foolhardy for anyone to proceed until those concerns have been addressed. I have asked the board of the Springvale project to review the situation urgently, to provide me with an update and to come back to me as soon as possible with alternative options, if necessary.

Strategy for Essential Skills

Mr Eugene McMenamin: 5. asked the Minister for Employment and Learning to give an update on the strategy for essential skills.
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Ms Carmel Hanna: The Department for Employment and Learning has analysed feedback from the ‘Essential Skills for Living’ framework and consultation paper. A strategy and an action plan will be published by the end of September 2002. I am very pleased with the response to the consultation document. The strategy will improve greatly the lives of many people, and it will have a positive effect on society as a whole. It sets challenging targets to build capacity across providers of literacy and numeracy courses, and to engage a significant number of adults in improving their essential skills.
I am pleased that resources for the strategy were allocated in the draft Budget last week. However, the amounts are considerably lower than those allocated to similar strategies in the Republic of Ireland and in Great Britain.

Mr Eugene McMenamin: Essential skills are a key issue that needs to be addressed in projects throughout Northern Ireland, particularly given that about one in four adults in Northern Ireland have the lowest levels of literacy, which, at best, is a reading age of 11. How will the essential skills strategy be funded?

Ms Carmel Hanna: The essential skills action plan is a cornerstone of my Department’s work. I certainly appreciate how vital it is that we address the awful situation in which 24% of the adult population have low literacy. As I said, although I am pleased that the draft Budget allocated resources to the essential skills strategy, the funding is less than the amount required. There is a need for significant resources to put in place a quality infrastructure in the curriculum, the assessment qualifications and tutor training, and to engage the target number of learners in the strategy in the first year of its budget. However, insufficient resources have been allocated for the second and third years to meet the needs of the large number of adults with poor literacy and numeracy skills. My Department will continue to submit bids for funding in annual Budget rounds to sustain, and, I hope, expand, that capacity.

Promotion of Entrepreneurship

Mr Ken Robinson: 7. asked the Minister for Employment and Learning what discussion she had with her Executive Colleagues regarding the promotion of entrepreneurship.
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Ms Carmel Hanna: Lead responsibility for the promotion of entrepreneurship rests with my Colleague Sir Reg Empey in the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment. I have discussed the issue with him in the context of the Economic Development Forum, and I attend the meetings that he chairs. My officials work closely with, and support, officials in the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment, the staff of Invest Northern Ireland, and officials in other Departments, on the development of a business birth-rate strategy. I do my best to ensure that my Executive Colleagues are aware of what the Department for Employment and Learning is doing to encourage entrepreneurship, by embedding the concept in everything that we do, including skills development, careers guidance and employment services.

Mr Ken Robinson: I thank the Minister for a very full answer, and particularly for her reference that was supposed to illustrate joined-up government.
However, will she undertake to set up urgently university-level courses with entrepreneurship as their base specifically to target the over 2,000 highly qualified employees laid off by high-tech firms in east Antrim to ensure that these people create new high-tech businesses and to ensure that these skills are not dispersed across the globe? Will she undertake to work closely with her Colleague, Sir Reg Empey, to ensure that an imaginative response to this serious situation is urgently forthcoming?

Ms Carmel Hanna: I certainly acknowledge the serious situation there. I am sure that the Member is aware that we work closely in that area with employers and trainers. Some work is already being done in the universities. If the Member wants to put his suggestion in writing, we will consider it.

Mr John Dallat: I congratulate the Minister on her work in encouraging entrepreneurship, particularly among young people. Given that 90% of businesses in Northern Ireland are small- to medium-sized, can she give us an assurance that the priority that she has given to encouraging entrepreneurship among young people will continue in the future?

Ms Carmel Hanna: Yes, I agree that it is essential that we concentrate on that. We do not have a great culture of entrepreneurship in Northern Ireland, and we must encourage and develop it. Although I do not wish to pre-empt the outcome of Invest Northern Ireland’s work in the development of the business birth strategy, I envisage my Department’s playing an important role in increasing the number of new business starts as set out in the Programme for Government 2002–05. Entrepreneurship is increasingly integrated into courses in our universities and further education institutions with the aim of contributing to an enterprise culture in Northern Ireland.

Modern Apprenticeships

Mr Roy Beggs: 8. asked the Minister for Employment and Learning what plans she has to increase the number of modern apprenticeship places by 2004.
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Ms Carmel Hanna: Modern apprenticeships are demand-led, work-based learning. They rely on interest from young people and the willingness of employers to employ and train them from day one. My Department is actively publicising the benefits of modern apprenticeships and raising awareness of them generally among young people, employers and employer representative bodies. I intend to set a target for 2003-04 of increasing participation in apprenticeships by 10%. The funding is there, and we want to work closely with employers. However, we are dependent on their co-operation.

Mr Roy Beggs: The Minister said that modern apprenticeships are "demand-led". Will she be examining carefully why the money that has been allocated has not been drawn down? Is she aware of, and will she be taking into account, the target in Great Britain to raise the number of young people entering modern apprenticeships before the age of 22 to 28% by 2004? Does she accept that, like higher education, technical and craft skills are vital to our economy? Will she be giving increased measure to the development of modern apprenticeships in Northern Ireland?

Ms Carmel Hanna: I agree with everything the Member has said. We do all we can, and we will work with people to encourage the take-up of modern apprenticeships. The funding is available, but we are dependent on employers’ cooperation to some extent. Working with employers is vital.

Mrs Annie Courtney: I welcome the Minister’s response. How successful is the modern apprenticeship programme in Northern Ireland in attracting young people and employers?

Ms Carmel Hanna: As I have already said, I would like it to be more successful. It is excellent. However, we rely on young people’s interest, employers’ willingness and probably also on good careers advice so that young people are aware of the opportunities available.
We work as closely as we can with young people and their parents, schools, further education colleges and employers.

Ms Mary Nelis: I am pleased that the Minister intends to increase the number of modern apprenticeships. However, can she say how she plans to encourage more employers to engage in the scheme? In the Foyle constituency, which has the highest rate of youth unemployment, there has been a marked decline in the number of modern apprenticeships, especially electrical training apprenticeships. There were just 14 in 2001 and about 30 the previous year.

Ms Carmel Hanna: We have commissioned a review of the effectiveness of the arrangements for modern apprenticeships in Northern Ireland that will examine the respective performances and roles of the sector training councils, the training organisations and the employers’ organisations in the delivery of the programme. That review should be completed in December 2002.
My Department is doing all it can to promote modern apprenticeships; they are excellent, and funding is available. However, it is vitally important to have the employers on board.

The Beeches, Aghalee

Mr Edwin Poots: 9. asked the Minister for Employment and Learning when she intends to visit the vocational learning unit at The Beeches, Aghalee.
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Ms Carmel Hanna: I intend to visit the Beeches vocational learning unit at Aghalee on Wednesday 16 October 2002, and I look forward to that visit.

Mr Edwin Poots: I thank the Minister for confirming her visit. I had written to her earlier in the year, and she said that she intended to come in the autumn. However, she needs to bring more than herself; she needs to bring some assurances about the European funding that was withdrawn. The Down Lisburn Trust is sustaining the unit, but that cannot continue indefinitely. Her Department has a role to play in providing funding for the unit.

Ms Carmel Hanna: Regrettably, I do not have the resources to continue to support projects that were not successful in their applications for EU funding. However, the Executive have agreed that £6 million will be made available from the Executive programme funds to ensure that critical services provided by projects are not lost. I have had a meeting with the Minister of Education and the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety, and officials from my Department are involved in a cross-departmental working group with officials from the Department of Education and the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety. We are actively looking at transition from special schools to further and higher education.

Switch from ACE to Worktrack

Mr John Kelly: 10. asked the Minister for Employment and Learning how much funding was allocated in the switch from ACE to Worktrack; and to make a statement on any improvement in efficiency.
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Ms Carmel Hanna: ACE was closed and Worktrack introduced in the 1999-2000 financial year. In that year just over £11 million was expended on ACE and £1·6 million on Worktrack. Worktrack’s allocation in the present financial year is £9·4 million. At the end of Worktrack’s first full year of operation, its performance, with regard to participants taking up sustained employment, was about the same as that of ACE. However, as Worktrack is a six-month programme, while ACE lasted a year or more, there is a considerable gain in efficiency, and I am looking at ways of raising the performance levels.

Mr John Kelly: Does the Minister agree that the work done by ACE is not being reflected in Worktrack? Indeed, there may be confusion about the transition from ACE to Worktrack. The systems that people were accustomed to in ACE do not seem to be reflected in Worktrack.

Ms Carmel Hanna: Unemployment in Northern Ireland fell from the start of the 1990s, and by the end of 1997 it was below the average level for the European Union. The greater number of people finding jobs and the continuing fall in unemployment, combined with the introduction of New Deal, made it necessary to re-examine the ACE programme.
ACE was introduced during a period of relatively high unemployment. The programme provided temporary employment opportunities for the long-term unemployed in projects of community benefit for up to 12 months, and could be extended to 18 months in the case of disabled persons. However, since New Deal is now the Government’s main instrument to help the unemployed to get back to work, Worktrack complements that approach by providing temporary employment opportunities of up to 26 weeks in advance of New Deal thresholds.

Dr Joe Hendron: I appreciate the Minister’s comments about the switch from ACE to Worktrack, and about the improvements in efficiency. Will the Minister assure us that areas such as west Belfast, where many hundreds of young people are unemployed, will benefit from that improvement?

Ms Carmel Hanna: Earlier this year, independent consultants evaluated the Worktrack programme and found that there was a continuing need for it. Several recommendations on improving its effectiveness were made, including the increased use of private and public sector organisations to provide a wider range of job placements. My Department is considering those recommendations. From information gathered by the task force on employability and long-term unemployment, we learned that examining the barriers to employment would help us to tailor our programmes more successfully.

Mr Jim Wilson: Questions 15 and 17, in the names of Mr Mick Murphy and Ms Sue Ramsey respectively, have been withdrawn.

Literacy in the Agriculture Industry

Mr Billy Armstrong: 11. asked the Minister for Employment and Learning what steps she has taken in partnership with the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development to address the low levels of literacy among those in the agriculture industry.
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Ms Carmel Hanna: I have briefed the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development and other ministerial Colleagues on the development of the essential skills strategy. My departmental officials are working closely with the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development to ensure that the essential skills provision is integrated into their training and development programmes.

Mr Billy Armstrong: The Minister’s answer does not go far enough. What steps is she taking to provide training for the many people who have had to leave the agriculture industry in recent years because of low income, and who have little or no qualifications, other than knowledge of the trade of farming the land, grazing livestock, and crops, which has resulted in the success of highly profitable supermarkets?

Ms Carmel Hanna: The consultation on the essential skills strategy consisted of 18 seminars, and 195 responses were received. We consulted widely, in urban and rural areas, and all the key stakeholders were represented. The international adult literacy survey, which highlighted the fact that 24% of our adult population have literacy problems, showed that workers such as machine operators, and those in repetitious jobs, were often performing with low literacy. As part of the essential skills strategy, we shall establish a steering group to explore all those barriers and to discover how the most disadvantaged and excluded adults can be reached. I shall be chairing that group, and I assure the Member that I intend to progress the strategy.

Mr P J Bradley: I agree with Mr Armstrong that low literacy is prevalent among those in the agriculture industry. Some young farmers are unable to obtain driving licences because of their inability to complete the written part of the driving test. However, the solution to that is not within the remit of the Minister for Employment and Learning. What assurances can the Minister give that the needs of the agriculture industry will be fully met?

Ms Carmel Hanna: As I said in my response to Mr Armstrong, the Department for Employment and Learning consulted people in the rural and urban areas on the essential skills needs of those involved in the agriculture industry. The Department was looking for the main barriers to literacy. I will do all in my power to ensure that the Department, through the essential skills action plan, targets those who need help. That is a huge challenge, but I am determined that the Department will meet it. We have set ourselves high numbers. A new curriculum has been introduced, and the Department wants to ensure that the tutors are well trained and that the teaching is esteemed. I want to ensure that the Department for Employment and Learning will meet its own challenge.

Mr Jim Wilson: We should be moving to question 16, but Mr Alex Attwood is not in his place. I call Mr Gerry McHugh.

Achievement of NVQs

Mr Gerry McHugh: 18. asked the Minister for Employment and Learning to detail the achievement rate for NVQs in each of the last 3 years.
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Ms Carmel Hanna: The NVQ achievement rate in the Jobskills programme is measured on a cohort basis, namely young people who enter Jobskills between 1 April each year and the following 31 March. The NVQ achievement rates for 1998-99 were 41% at level one and 49% at level two; for 1999-2000 they were 46% at level one and 51% at level two; and for 2000-01 it was 21% at level one. There is only one figure for 2000-01 because the Department looked at the key skills together.

Mr Gerry McHugh: I thank the Minister for her answer. Those achievement levels could be improved. Does the Minister have any innovative ideas to improve the grades? Levels one and two were mentioned, but many jobs in the higher sector of industry require level three. What is the possibility of increasing rates of achievement at level three?

Ms Carmel Hanna: I do not think that that is a problem. The problem is that those at key skills levels one and two are sometimes having difficulties caused by the requirement since 1999 for trainees to attain both an NVQ and the specified key skills. Although there has been an improvement in the key skill achievement rates, it is recognised that the recent introduction of the external test in key skills has exacerbated the problem for some young people. I have asked departmental officials to consider how the difficulties presented by key skills might best be addressed and to submit proposals for dealing with young people who are not ready to undertake a full framework.
We are doing better than Great Britain, but the NVQ rate has been somewhat depressed. Some school leavers are already demotivated and are not comfortable to be back in the classroom. The Department for Employment and Learning wants to get the balance between the essential key skills — which are set by employers — and the NVQ level.

Task Force on Employability and Long-Term Unemployment

Mrs Annie Courtney: 19. asked the Minister for Employment and Learning to give an update on the progress of the task force on employability and long-term unemployment.
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Ms Carmel Hanna: The draft report is with the Committee for Employment and Learning for consideration before submission to the Executive for approval and subsequent publication. I am looking forward to feedback from the Committee and to taking the draft report to my Executive Colleagues and on to publication.

Mrs Annie Courtney: How will the Minister ensure that the work of the task force continues once its action plan has been produced?

Ms Carmel Hanna: The report signals the beginning of an interdepartmental approach to addressing those vital issues, and the task force recognises that more needs to be done. It is committed to ensuring that the recommendations contained in the action plan are taken forward.
Additionally, as Minister, I will lead the implementation of the employability task force action plan. I will seek support for the action plan from the Northern Ireland Executive, the Assembly, the employer representative bodies, the trade union movement, education and training providers, and, not least, the community and voluntary sector. An interdepartmental implementation group, which will report to me, will ensure that those parties take responsibility for delivering on their commitments in the action plan. Progress towards action plan targets will be further monitored through the publication of New TSN action plans. Those will reflect individual Departments’ commitments to the employability task force action plan. The implementation group will also put in place a local consultative process in each targeted area.

Mr Jim Wilson: Time is up.

Social Development

Mr Jim Wilson: I wish to inform Members that questions 4 and 8, standing in the names of Mrs Carson and Ms Ramsey, have been withdrawn and will receive a written answer. Questions 5 and 12, standing in the names of Mr Malloy, Mr Fee and Mr Hilditch, have been withdrawn and will not require a written answer.

Dromore: Urban Regeneration

Mr Edwin Poots: 1. asked the Minister for Social Development what assistance he can give to the urban regeneration of Dromore.
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Mr Nigel Dodds: My Department has prepared a strategy for town centre reinvigoration, which forms part of our new strategy for neighbourhood renewal in Northern Ireland. The town centre element has been drawn up after widespread consultation, including comments from district councils and other Government Departments. It will highlight a range of policies and incentives, which together will create the best climate within which regeneration of town centres can be accomplished. The Department for Social Development will offer advice on best practice for reinvigorating town centres and will continue to use existing policy instruments, such as environmental improvement and comprehensive development schemes, as appropriate.
Finally, and importantly, our policy will highlight the need for a unified approach by Government to ensure that all our policies complement each other with regard to promoting town centre reinvigoration. With that aim in mind, this morning I met Mr Nesbitt, the Minister of the Environment, to discuss how we could act jointly to promote regeneration in Dromore.
The Department for Social Development, which takes the lead on regeneration matters, will provide advice and general assistance to Banbridge District Council and to the local established groups in Dromore. The Department will also continue to work with the International Fund for Ireland, as agent for the urban development programme, and with the heritage lottery fund, which has appointed a project officer to run the townscape scheme in Dromore. Those practical measures will go a long way towards ensuring that Dromore is given the best opportunity to develop a town centre of which it can be truly proud.

Mr Edwin Poots: Does the Minister’s Department recognise the scale of dereliction in Dromore? Will the Minister visit the town to see the dereliction? Can his Department provide financial assistance to the Dromore area, in conjunction with the International Fund for Ireland and the heritage lottery fund, to ensure that the schemes that are being processed by the Dromore regeneration group come to fruition?

Mr Nigel Dodds: I am happy to visit Dromore in my official capacity as Minister. My officials are well aware of the extent of the problems there and of the need to work with the local community, the local council and other interested groups to regenerate the town centre.
It is essential to have a proper plan from which to work. It will be difficult to commit a figure for funding until such a plan is in place. However, when it is formulated, potential sources of funding will be approached, and I shall decide what funding can be made available from the Department’s budget.
As a result of this morning’s meeting, I expect that a senior official will meet a representative of the local council. It is essential that the Department speak to the various interest groups in Dromore to develop a co-ordinated approach, so that the opportunities that will exist when the new town centre reinvigoration policy is published can be grasped.

Mr Denis Watson: Will the Minister update the House on the measure for town centre regeneration under Peace II?

Mr Nigel Dodds: Further to my Department undertaking a review of town centre regeneration and reinvigoration policy as part of the neighbourhood renewal strategy, it has also been examining the possibilities of funding town centre regeneration under Peace II. That measure has specific qualification criteria, and the majority of local councils across Northern Ireland have bid for assistance. As only £1·75 million is available, I anticipate that approximately only one third of the applicants will be successful. I hope to be able to announce the successful bids soon.

Deprived Communities

Mr Barry McElduff: 2. asked the Minister for Social Development what action he has taken, in the past 3 months, to assist socially deprived communities, address the legacy of conflict and encourage reconciliation.
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Mr Nigel Dodds: I have recently announced several programmes and measures that are aimed specifically at assisting the most socially deprived communities in Northern Ireland. For example, in July, my Department announced a £12 million European Union Peace II funding package, which will benefit 12 communities in Northern Ireland that suffer high levels of multiple deprivation and the worst effects of recent troubles.
That funding is in addition to the £11 million URBAN II funding package for inner north Belfast that was announced earlier this year. Moreover, under the auspices of the North Belfast Community Action Project, my Department has been contributing to developing a plan of short-, medium- and long-term actions to address social and community issues there, particularly actions that are aimed at building and strengthening community capacity. Specific housing strategies are being developed to provide decent homes for those living in the worst areas of conflict. Furthermore, £1·5 million was allocated recently to projects in the most deprived areas of Londonderry, two of which aim to address the legacy of conflict and encourage reconciliation.

Mr Barry McElduff: Thank you, a LeasCheann Comhairle. Will the Minister meet representatives of the voluntary and community sector in Omagh, the county town of Tyrone? Will he listen to the experiences of groups, such as Focus (Forum in Omagh Community Understanding and Support) and Omagh Community Support Forum — amalgams of town-based and rural community groups — and the Omagh Women’s Area Network, about funding difficulties and discuss measures aimed at building their capacity?

Mr Nigel Dodds: I am aware of the contribution that the voluntary and community sector makes in delivering vital services to some of the most socially and economically deprived communities in Northern Ireland.
I recently met representatives of the Community Foundation for Northern Ireland — formerly the Northern Ireland Voluntary Trust — and I have met the Northern Ireland Council for Voluntary Action and other community organisations that provide advice and assistance throughout Northern Ireland. I am always happy to talk to representatives of the community sector.
One of the messages that people from Omagh would undoubtedly bring to a meeting would be similar to the message that such groups could bring from other parts of the Province — namely, that the community and voluntary sector is currently under some pressure. However, we are working as hard as possible to try to alleviate that through long-term strategies and also by making a bid for Executive programme funds to secure extra funding for the sector. We will continue to work on that, and I shall be very happy to meet community and voluntary sector representatives from Omagh or elsewhere.

Mr Eugene McMenamin: Does the Minister agree that the most efficient weapon to deal with conflict is the existence of democratic institutions? Does he agree that those who wish to pull them down are the best friends of paramilitaries who want anything but reconciliation?

Mr Nigel Dodds: Mr Deputy Speaker, the Member’s question goes somewhat beyond the subject before us. However, with your permission, I will nevertheless be very happy to answer it. Before I come to the more political aspects, I would like to put on record in the Assembly that, in the coming months, as well as the measures which I outlined previously, I expect to publish a new urban regeneration strategy for Northern Ireland generally, which will provide a new framework for targeting resources at neighbourhoods suffering high levels of deprivation and social exclusion. I expect to announce shortly the Peace II funding package that I referred to earlier. We have also secured funding for a new community outreach programme. Those are practical measures which demonstrate our commitment to helping those who are most socially deprived in Northern Ireland.
As for the Member’s rather silly comments, he would be better spending his time concentrating on those sorts of issues and trying to develop truly democratic institutions in Northern Ireland. If he believes for one minute that what is unacceptable in the Irish Republic — where the Government and the leading parties have said that they are not prepared to have representatives of an armed terrorist group in government — should be forced on us here, he should talk to some more of his friends down South and see what the difference is.

Mr Jim Shannon: The Minister has confirmed the contribution of voluntary and community groups in socially deprived communities, not only in west Tyrone but all over the Province. What moneys are available for such voluntary and community groups to assist the point of view which the Minister has put forward?

Mr Nigel Dodds: My Department utilises various funding programmes to support the regional and local community infrastructure in Northern Ireland. There is support for regional voluntary and community bodies such as the Northern Ireland Council for Voluntary Action, the Northern Ireland Association of Citizens Advice Bureaux and the Association of Independent Advice Centres.
There is also, of course, the district councils’ community support programme, of which, as a local councillor, the Member will be aware. That in turn funds local voluntary and community groups, advice centres and resource centres. We have increased funding to that programme to allow local councils to make the decisions on where the resources should go. I believe in local democracy, and that is what local democracy really means — letting people have the decision on where such funding should go.
We also have programmes in place to support active citizenship and volunteering. The active community initiative was launched by the Prime Minister in January 1999, and its aim is to help rebuild a sense of community throughout the United Kingdom by encouraging and supporting all forms of community involvement. We also have EU measures under the programme for building sustainable prosperity. In addition, my Department has secured funding of £3 million for a new outreach programme which has been developed in conjunction with other Departments; eligible activities will include one-stop shops for advice on such issues as funding, exchanges and secondments. Priority will be given to those areas of highest social and economic need.

Warm Homes Scheme

Mr Billy Armstrong: 6. asked the Minister for Social Development to give an update on the uptake of the warm homes scheme.
(AQO211/02)

Mr Nigel Dodds: The warm homes scheme is demand-led. Since it began in July 2001, more than 12,000 referrals from eligible applicants across Northern Ireland have been processed, and more than 8,300 clients have received energy efficiency or heating measures. To date, spending on the warm homes scheme exceeds £9·6 million, and we are on course to assist 6,250 households this year.

Mr Billy Armstrong: Does the Minister agree that more than 170,000 households are classed as living with fuel poverty, and that the warm homes scheme, although a positive initiative, will not go far enough to eradicate fuel poverty?

Mr Nigel Dodds: I agree that the warm homes scheme, on its own, will not eradicate fuel poverty. However, it is a major leap forward from where we were two or three years ago, and I am sure the Member will agree with that.
Since it began operation on 2 July 2001, over 6,500 insulations have been fitted, over 1,700 heating systems have been installed, and £9·5 million has been spent. The allocation of funds for this year is £7·98 million, and that will be supported by a contribution from the NIE customer levy. Therefore, much is being done on that front, which is very welcome. The Member will know, as I do from dealing with constituents, the valuable and important improvement it makes to people’s lives.
The recent study in Beechmount, which was one of the pilot areas selected by my Department, the Housing Executive and others, showed that people are saving an average of £10 a week as a result of those measures. If we were to eradicate fuel poverty in Northern Ireland, it would save the Health Service £30 million a year — and that is year on year. We talk about dealing with the crux of the problems; that shows the importance of putting money into that scheme, as it will solve a range of problems.
We are also funding an extensive programme of heating upgrades by the Housing Executive and registered housing associations. Through the social security system, a winter fuel payment of £200 a year is made available to pensioners, and a cold weather payment is also available in severe conditions. Housing unfitness, which is a major contributory factor, is being tackled through a regime of grants. We are dealing with that in the Housing Bill by introducing a more flexible regime and targeting the areas most in need, particularly rural areas where there is much unfit housing in the private sector.
I agree that fuel poverty is a multifaceted problem. It requires a cross-departmental approach, and that is why I intend to issue a fuel poverty strategy for consultation by the end of the year.

Mrs Annie Courtney: The Minister has pre-empted my question. During the Committee for Social Development’s energy inquiry, we discussed fuel poverty, and I understand that the Minister’s Department is setting up a fuel poverty task force. I wanted to ask when that would begin, and when the result is likely to come out.

Mr Nigel Dodds: I know of the Member’s interest in that area. As I have said, we intend to issue the fuel poverty strategy for consultation by the end of the year. I mentioned the benefits of dealing with the issue comprehensively, and the tremendous benefits that accrue for householders lifted out of fuel poverty and for the general budget, due to the knock-on effects in health, education and other areas. I intend to move on that as speedily as possible.
I will ensure that there is proper consultation with everyone who is interested, not least the Members and Committees, who have a relevant input in the Assembly. I will continue to press the Eaga Partnership in delivering that on the ground, although they have done an impressive job. We will continue to closely monitor where the uptake is coming from. As it is demand-led, there is a need to ensure that those areas that may not be making full use of the scheme make as much use of it as they can. That must be done through publicity and highlighting the benefits of the scheme. Given the benefits that I have outlined, it is important that we continue to make progress, and the strategy to which the Member referred is an important aspect of that.

Mr Maurice Morrow: Does the Department have any further plans to enhance public awareness of the warm homes scheme? The scheme has been greatly appreciated across the Province. However, not everyone is aware of it.

Mr Nigel Dodds: The demand-led nature of the scheme means that there will be variations in uptake from one area to the next. As I have said, the Eaga Partnership has developed an effective promotional campaign, which involves general local media advertising and the use of mailshots in co-operation with the Housing Executive and the Rate Collection Agency.
It also involves the employment of a network liaison manager to develop referral mechanisms, which includes the constituency offices of Assembly Members. I am aware that Members from all sides come across the problem when dealing with constituents on a daily basis. It is important that they have a point of reference through which to channel enquiries and get them dealt with as quickly as possible.
Those mechanisms are in place. However, Eaga and the Department continue to monitor the situation closely so that marketing activities are targeted at areas where people are in need. By and large, the uptake across the Province is good. Some areas could certainly benefit from greater uptake; others are above average. However, every part of the Province is benefiting.

Housing Associations

Mr John Kelly: 7. asked the Minister for Social Development to detail, for each of the last 4 years, the grant aid awarded to housing associations for the provision of social housing.
(AQO218/02)

Mr Nigel Dodds: Housing association grants paid to registered housing associations for the provision of new-build social housing over the past four years were £55·9 million in 1998-99; £58·2 million in 1999-2000; £54·8 million in 2000-01 and £54·8 million in 2001-02.
In addition, housing associations attracted private finance of £25·1 million in 1998-99; £35·5 million in 1999-2000; £30 million in 2000-01, and £30 million in 2001-02 into the programme. Had that private finance — around £121 million — not been available, then the equivalent of around 1,800 new houses would not have been provided at no cost to the public purse.

Mr John Kelly: Notwithstanding the pivotal role that housing associations play in providing social housing, does the Minister agree that the massive increase of around 58% in the building costs of housing associations needs to be examined? Is there a connection between that and the amount of private finance initiative money that they are getting?

Mr Nigel Dodds: The general cost of public housing has been measured against the comparative rise in England. Figures were taken from a needs and effectiveness evaluation that was leaked and misinterpreted by members of the press and some Members of the House. There has, indeed, been misplaced and misguided comment on those figures.
Comparisons with the cost of providing new social housing in England are misleading for several reasons. Land costs, especially around Belfast, have risen sharply in recent years. Northern Ireland’s social housing is built to higher standards and lower density.
Of course, my Department is always acutely aware of the need to deliver value for money. It has commissioned detailed research into several issues that have arisen from the evaluation — including the reason why house prices have risen so dramatically — so as to ensure that it gets the best possible value for investment in the housing programmes, as it has done in the past. The review of needs and effectiveness on housing concluded that public spending on housing in Northern Ireland has generally been effective in meeting its objectives and has delivered acceptable value for money. The suggestion that the housing budget is somehow overfunded is completely spurious. I am glad that many people in the Province share that view.

Dr Joe Hendron: The Minister and his Department have spent substantial sums of money on social housing. However, in areas such as Greater West Belfast, hundreds of people have been waiting for meaningful consideration of housing, many since March 2000. Has the Minister any plans to increase funding for housing in west Belfast?

Mr Nigel Dodds: I can only operate within the budget available to me. Dr Hendron and other Members will have a critical role in that when voting on the Budget in the coming months. I have made pleas before, in the House, outside the House and elsewhere, for increased funding for housing.
With more funding, more houses can be built, not only in west Belfast, but in other areas of housing need. That is why I was so alarmed — indeed, annoyed — at the misreporting and nonsense in the papers recently about the needs and effectiveness evaluation. It made no sense at all. It is simply nonsense to suggest that we are somehow overspending because more has been spent in Northern Ireland than in England on maintenance and housing, especially when billions of pounds are now being invested in England to catch up on the investment that we have made over the years — a tacit admission that we got it right all along.
We must accept that, just as I said in answer to Mr Armstrong that warm homes can have effects on the health budget and educational standards, decent, fit and quality housing can have a wide range of knock-on effects for people’s educational status, health, environmental improvement and so on. It is essential that extra resources be put into housing generally — in west Belfast and other areas of the Province. I will commit myself to doing everything that I possibly can to do that, and I look for the support of Members on that issue.

Mr Ian Paisley Jnr: Has the Minister any evidence, anecdotal or otherwise, to suggest that one reason why building costs are so high in Northern Ireland is the awful extortion, by members of the Provisional IRA and other paramilitaries, from companies that are trying to provide the social housing that he mentioned?

Mr Nigel Dodds: Rising land costs are an issue, especially around Belfast. In other areas of the Province, the scarcity of land at the right price has a knock-on effect on the ability of housing associations to acquire land for new social housing. We compete for that land with the private sector and others. Anything that contributes to higher costs is an additional problem, be it extortion demands by paramilitary groups or whatever.
Our ability to deal with homelessness, longer waiting lists, severe housing need and severe social and economic deprivation is hampered, hindered and set back when, for instance, funding that should be used to tackle those issues must be diverted into buying homes under the special purchase of evacuated dwellings scheme to transfer people threatened out of their homes by paramilitary groups. We are now looking at an underspend of well over £15 million in this year’s budget as a direct result of the Castlereagh break-in, and we know where the responsibility for that lies.

Benefits Payment Arrangements

Mr Mark Robinson: 9. asked the Minister for Social Development what steps are being taken to ensure that claimants who do not wish to open a bank/building society account in order to receive pension and benefit payments, will, after April 2003, retain the option of receiving such payments directly from a Post Office.
(AQO182/02)

Mr Nigel Dodds: Payment by credit transfer is being introduced to modernise the way benefits are paid, to reduce social and financial exclusion by giving access to basic bank accounts, and to reduce the fraud and abuse associated with the current paper methods of payment.
Negotiations are proceeding between the banks and the Post Office to ensure that people who open basic bank accounts will be able to access those through the Post Office. Thus it is my clear policy that people in Northern Ireland will be able to continue to collect their benefits at post offices.
(Madam Deputy Speaker [Ms Morrice] in the Chair)

Mr Mark Robinson: Will the Minister give an assurance that any switchover will not be compulsory?

Mr Nigel Dodds: I assure the Member that people can collect their benefits in cash from the Post Office if they so wish. The purpose of the reforms is to tackle social and financial exclusion and to reduce fraud and abuse. Clearly, provision must be made for those who cannot or do not wish to avail of that system. There is no question of people being forced to use it, and people will still be able to receive their money weekly. They will not have to make different financial arrangements for their own accounting purposes.

Mr P J Bradley: Has the Minister had discussions with Consignia, or has he plans to meet the company regarding the retention of services in rural areas to ensure that residents in those areas continue to have a service equal to that available to urban residents?

Ms Jane Morrice: Time is up.
Motion made:
That the Assembly do now adjourn.— [Madam Deputy Speaker.]

Nursery Provision at Moorfields Primary School

Mr Ian Paisley Jnr: During the summer, I received correspondence from the board of governors of Moorfields Primary School outlining the battle in which the school has been engaged with the North Eastern Education and Library Board. That battle concerns the provision of a nursery unit in that locality and has been ongoing for several years. It began as a result of the complete absence of statutory and voluntary provision for children of nursery age in that area.
Glenwherry is a large rural ward outside Ballymena. Its vastness is one of the reasons that dedicated nursery provision is required at Moorfields Primary School. Members who are unfamiliar with the area may find the following statistics helpful. Moorfields Primary School is more than five miles from nursery provision in Ballymena and 10 miles from provision in Ballyclare, and both facilities are oversubscribed. Provision in Larne is 13 miles away. Assuming space were available at any of those locations, the distances involved make it unlikely that parents would seriously consider provision offered there. Imagine the frustration felt by the school and the residents at being denied nursery provision despite the obvious need in the area, when smaller areas and the maintained and integrated sector are catered for and receive preference in funding and provision. At best, that is discrimination; at worst, it is a sectarian policy that deprives parents and children of their rights.
The outworking of Government policy has discriminated against children in that area and deprived them of the opportunity to avail of nursery education, which the Government claim should be available to every child.
Furthermore, it makes a nonsense of this Government’s intention to target social need. Women and children from rural areas are being disadvantaged by the outworking of that policy. A policy that does not target those in real need is not a policy at all. Immediate action must be taken to address that obvious need. The Government’s pledge that there will be a place for every child rings hollow at Moorfields Primary School. Immediate action is required.
The facts make for stark reading. Despite the greater number of pupils and new places in the controlled sector of the North Eastern Education and Library Board over the past four years, most Pre-school Education Advisory Group (PEAG) programme places have gone to the maintained and integrated sectors. In real terms, that is 598 places as opposed to 520. That has an obvious funding implication and can affect the future of primary provision in certain areas. Departmental statistics alone prove that no part of Glenwherry’s need is met. The calculations used by the board are in error, so the Department should open afresh the allocation procedure.
Let me explain. The board estimates the shortfall at Glenwherry to be 40 places. That number results from subtracting the total pre-school provision — 44 places — from the number of P1 children, which is 84. Accordingly, it is assumed that existing provision, to some extent, meets local need. The fallacy of that approach is revealed by an analysis of the two wards served by the pre-school providers, the Country Playgroup and the Tiny Tots Community Playgroup. It emerges that Glenwherry is served by neither of those two excellent providers. Glenwherry, therefore, is not catered for and should be near the top of the list of areas requiring assistance. However, it is fifth on the list and unlikely to receive assistance.
The plain truth is that the North Eastern Education and Library Board (NEELB) and the Department of Education make no provision for pre-school children from the Moorfields area. When will that provision be made? In November 2000, Gordon Topping, the chief executive of the board wrote to the board of governors of Moorfields Primary School admitting that there is
"a shortfall in pre-school provision in the Glenwherry area and that this will be addressed as and when additional resources become available."
It is now 2002, and no identified resources have come to Moorfields to address its obvious need.
Will the Minister put his money where the board’s mouth is? A unit at Moorfields Primary School is urgently required and will go some way towards meeting local need. My questions demand serious answers, and I hope that the Minister can provide them. What resources will be allocated to Moorfields in the current financial year for a nursery unit? Secondly, what is the total provision in respect of money and the number of places for pre-school children in the Glenwherry ward? Thirdly, with no provision in the Glenwherry ward, how does the Department of Education intend to meet the Government’s promise of a place for every child whose parents want it? Fourthly, does the Minister accept that there are flaws in the PEAG process report, given how provision has been calculated for Moorfields? Fifthly, will the Minister amend the PEAG programme to accommodate need at Moorfields?
The need at Moorfields is real and will affect the opportunities that its children will have in later life. The sooner they are in nursery school, the better rewarded they will be. Depriving them of that opportunity deprives a massive rural hinterland of rights which can be expected in other parts of Northern Ireland. Depriving those children, rather than those in the minority whose parents choose other sectors, is woefully wrong. The Minister should provide the necessary funds for Moorfields to enable it to keep up with the opportunities offered to children elsewhere.

Rev Dr Ian Paisley: I support the subject of this Adjournment debate. The Member who has brought this matter to the attention of the House has made it known that a parent in the Moorfields area who asks for accommodation for children in a nursery school is told to go to Ballymena, three or four miles away. In Ballymena every place has been taken, and the parent is told to go to Ballyclare, 10 miles away. Again, in Ballyclare, every place has been taken. The nearest place in which there is a likelihood, and only a likelihood, of a child’s receiving nursery care is 13 miles away in Larne. There must be something frightfully wrong if children in the Moorfields Primary School catchment area are discriminated against and cannot participate in that which was promised to them by the Executive.
It is discrimination because, if money is not given, nursery places cannot be provided. Money must be given. Although other education sectors receive funding, this sector does not receive enough funding to supply adequate nursery places and fulfil the promise that was made. It is surely the duty of the Minister to ensure that that matter is rectified.
Anyone who knows the religious breakdown of the population of the Glenwherry area knows that it is largely Protestant. Why are children from that large Protestant population not given the opportunity that is afforded to other children of another faith who are provided for by a different system of education? Of course, all children are legally entitled to provision under the scheme. However, the Protestant people there are not getting their entitlement, and, because it is such a vital issue, it is only right that the House is informed and the Minister pressed on the matter.
Members know how difficult it is to rear families in Northern Ireland, which is largely due to unemployment. Sometimes it is mothers who are employed and earn the money necessary to keep the home. However, a mother can do that only if nursery provision is available for her children. It is wrong to expect a mother to travel 52 miles a day — 13 miles from Glenwherry to Larne to leave her child at a nursery school and then back again to work and the same again to collect her child when she has finished her work — to avail of the nursery place to which her child is legally entitled. That must be remedied immediately, which means that money must be made available and planning started straight away.
I am speaking on behalf of those children who deserve, are entitled to, and ought to have nursery provision, and the House is where such matters should be raised. The Department of Education must ensure that it fulfils its promises and meets its legal requirements. Therefore I urge it to consider the situation carefully to ensure that the discrimination ceases and the matter is remedied so that there is equal opportunity for all children, no matter what faith they may be of or to which school system their parents want to send them.

Mr Danny Kennedy: I am glad to have the opportunity to speak on such an important subject, and I congratulate Ian Paisley Jnr for raising this at the Adjournment. I apologise for the absence of my Colleague, Rev Robert Coulter, who is on important Assembly business elsewhere. He has made representations to me, as Chairperson of the Committee for Education, on this important matter. It might be useful to Mr Paisley Jnr and other Members to know that I have written to the chief executive of the North Eastern Education and Library Board expressing concern and asking for details of the situation at Moorfields Primary School. When a reply is made, I shall copy it to interested Members. I do not want to spend a great deal of time outlining the case; obviously local Members are in a much better position to do that. However, the matter has been raised with the Committee for Education, and it will pursue the issues involved. It is to be hoped that the Committee can come to a more satisfactory conclusion than that which pertains at the moment.

Mr Martin McGuinness: The Department of Education is responsible for the implementation of the pre-school education expansion programme, which has been one of the most significant educational developments here in recent years. It has been planned at local level by each education and library board’s pre-school education advisory group, or PEAGs, as they are known. I am grateful to these groups for their expertise and extensive local knowledge, and for the vital role that they play in implementing the programme. I wish to pay tribute to them for their hard work.
Throughout the programme, the PEAGs have been responsible for identifying those areas that have a shortfall in funded pre-school provision and for determining whether that shortfall should be addressed by creating new places in the statutory or voluntary sectors. I emphasise that the resources that are available under the programme allowed only for a specific level of capital investment, and the PEAGs carefully assessed areas for which capital resources should be used.
That assessment took into account factors such as the existence of providers in the voluntary and private sectors, as well as future viability. The expansion programme is an integral part of the Department of Education’s new targeting social need action plan, so levels of social disadvantage were also taken into account.
I mentioned the voluntary and private sectors to emphasise that provision of the programme is not confined to the statutory sector; indeed, the programme has established a partnership between the two. The Education and Training Inspectorate’s report ‘Begin with Quality’, which I launched 10 days ago, reported favourably on the quality of the non-statutory centres. The North Eastern Education and Library Board’s PEAG decided that, taking all relevant factors into consideration, and within the capital funding that was available to it, the provision of a nursery unit at Moorfields Primary School was not a priority. Therefore it was not included in the PEAG’s development plans. Additional funded pre-school provision in the Glenwherry and Kells ward cluster was created instead, by the allocation of 60 funded places for two playgroups in the area. Inspections by the Education and Training Inspectorate have shown that parents with children in those playgroups are being provided with high-quality places.
I am aware that there has been correspondence between the North Eastern Board’s PEAG and the school about the establishment of a nursery unit. My Department has asked that PEAG to consider the need for a statutory nursery unit at the school and to give its view of the matter.
I do not accept for one minute that the controlled sector has been inequitably treated by the PEAG or by the board. I refute any allegations of discrimination by the PEAG or the board against any section of our community. The maintained and integrated sectors have, historically, had less nursery provision than the controlled sector. However, all sectors have benefited from the creation of new provision under the expansion programme. The PEAG continues to deal with the matters that the school raised, and the North Eastern Education and Library Board and my Department will receive their advice in due course.
The expansion programme has been successful, and I anticipate that provision will rise to approximately 95% during the school year. That is over the estimated provision of approximately 90%. Therefore I am confident that the target of a place for every child whose parents wish it will be met.
We must also recognise that local issues remain in any large-scale programme. Those will usually have local causes and will need local solutions. The PEAGs and my Department will continue to work together to find those solutions.
Adjourned at 4.20 pm.